From The Wall Street Journal:
The thick smog hanging over Hong Kong is threatening more than the views of its famous setting: Air pollution is making the city less attractive to foreign investors and is driving some executives out, according to a new survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
The study, conducted by A.C. Nielsen, surveyed 140 top executives from member companies of the chamber on how air quality was affecting their business decisions. Among its main findings: About two in five executives — 39% — said they had experienced difficulty recruiting employees to work in the city because of air pollution, while 79% feel environmental issues will make Hong Kong less attractive to foreign companies.
“This is a threat to the city’s pre-eminence as a finance hub,” says Alan Seigrist, chairman of the chamber’s Environment Committee. “The challenge for Hong Kong is that many of these people who work in finance could be in Tokyo, London or San Francisco instead.”[Full Text and Subscribors Only]
