HONG KONG -- When Alexander von zur Muehlen traded a corner office in the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong for a far pokier office with modest views of the Singapore port, he couldn't help it being seen as a vote of no confidence.

Publicly, companies deny that their confidence in Hong Kong has been shaken. In private, they are beginning to make backup plans to diversify elsewhere. © Nikkei illustration
Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo are already luring disaffected businesses