Hong Kong protests led to $5 billion fund outflow: Bank of England

Hong Kong’s escalating protests this year led to about $5 billion being pulled from investments funds in the Asian financial hub, according to the Bank of England.

That’s equivalent to about 1.25% of the former British colony’s gross domestic product, the UK central bank said in its semiannual Financial Stability Report, citing its own calculations and data from Refinitiv and EPFR Global.

HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc, among the biggest foreign-based lenders in Hong Kong, have said that they have seen wealthy customers in the city opening overseas bank accounts as fears have grown since pro-democracy protests began.

The trade-dependent economy