Hong Kong's axed quarantine brings no joy for China-focused business

Thousands of struggling businesses pinning hopes on reopening mainland border

20221007  on the first day the COVID hotel quarantine has been scrapped

Travelers arrive at Hong Kong International Airport on the first day that the city's COVID hotel quarantine was scrapped.  © Reuters

ECHO WONG and PAK YIU, Nikkei staff writers

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's move to axe its hotel quarantine won applause from the city's battered aviation sector, but scores of other struggling businesses are pinning their hopes on cracking open a still-closed border with mainland China.

From factory owners who haven't seen their operations in years to fund sales managers who count on in-person meetings to win new clients, the financial hub's latest COVID curb easing does not mean much at a time when China is still requiring that travelers -- and returning residents -- isolate for 10 days.

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