Hong Kong institutions are further restricting public access to information, raising concerns over transparency as China increases its grip over the Asian financial hub.
The most significant change is a government proposal to restrict public access to the Companies Registry, limiting the information to correspondence addresses — as opposed to personal residences — and only partial ID numbers.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, called on the government to halt the move, arguing "such changes will be harmful to press freedom and transparency in the city” and will remove a tool also regularly used by financial, legal and compliance professionals.