Red Capital And ESG Campaign

In March 2021, Hong Kong Watch published a new report entitled: ‘Red Capital in Hong Kong: The Invisible Hand transforming the city’s politics.’

The report underlines the way that an influx of mainland money and assets changed the power dynamics in the city’s politics and provides a warning to democratic governments about the way that Beijing has used ‘economic coercion’ as a key strategy of control in Hong Kong.

One of the report’s key recommendations for Western parliamentarians is the urgent need to ensure that no state-pension funds invest in the stocks or bonds of firms complicit in gross human rights violations.

Following the release of the report, Hong Kong Watch has tracked and researched the growing rise of Western investment in ‘Red Capital’ and campaigns for:

Greater transparency and debate around Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance influencing investments into China.
Increased weighting for human rights within Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance frameworks which influence global investments.
The introduction of regulation that will ensure no state-pension funds invest in stocks or bonds of Chinese companies complicit in gross human rights violations in Hong Kong and mainland China.
The introduction of entities lists banning investment into Chinese companies complicit in gross human rights violations.
Investors in the global financial centres across the world working with governments and regulators to establish global standards for ethical investments.