Global investment banks are pushing ahead with ambitious expansion plans in Shanghai even as a strict lockdown in China’s financial capital forces them to make emergency food deliveries to some staff and leaves others camped out on trading floors.
The lockdown of Shanghai, running into its fourth week in some districts and part of Beijing’s policy of eliminating Covid-19 cases, is one of the biggest tests yet of western banks’ resolve to build businesses in a country in which domestic lenders have long dominated.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are among banks to have moved staff from Hong Kong to Shanghai in recent weeks. They are also part of a group, including Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, UBS, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, to have earmarked Shanghai as a target for major investment in coming years.