Call to sign letter to HSBC on releasing Hong Kongers' Mandatory Provident Fund savings

Hong Kong Watch is calling for signatories to join us in sending a letter to HSBC, urging the company to release the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) savings of Hong Kongers who are living in the UK under the British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme.

Since the launch of the British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme in January 2021, an estimated 126,500 Hong Kongers have been prevented from accessing £3 billion worth of their Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) retirement savings. 

Ordinarily, Hong Kongers who can prove they have permanently departed from Hong Kong are entitled to withdraw the full amount of their MPF, a compulsory savings scheme for the people of Hong Kong. However, in direct retaliation to the establishment of the BNO scheme, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that it would no longer recognise the BNO passport as a valid travel document or form of identity. This has led to tens of thousands of Hong Kongers being rejected from the opportunity to withdraw their MPF, and has been conducted by fiat with no laws or regulations being changed in Hong Kong regarding the operation of the MPF.

If you are a Hong Konger who has been affected by the withholding of your MPF savings, or if you would like to join us in pressing HSBC to release the MPF savings of BNO Hong Kongers, we invite you to sign this letter.

You can read our latest briefing on the withholding of MPF from BNO Hong Kongers in the UK here. 

If you would like to sign the letter, please CLICK HERE.

呼籲BNO港人聯署去信滙豐 促請釋放MPF儲蓄

香港監察呼籲英國各地的BNO港人簽署這封致滙豐銀行的信件，促請釋放經BNO簽證計劃移居英國的港人強積金（MPF）儲蓄。

自BNO簽證計劃在2021年1月推出以來，估計有126,500名香港人無法提取MPF退休儲蓄，價值高達30億英鎊。

香港人如能證明自己已永久離開香港，一般有權全額提取MPF。然而，中國外交部因應英國政府設立BNO計劃作報復行動，宣布不再承認BNO護照為有效旅遊證件或身分。此舉導致數十萬港人被拒絕提取MPF；肇事者聽命行事，有關MPF運作的香港法律或法規並沒有改變。

如果你的MPF儲蓄正被扣押，或希望聯手要求滙豐釋放BNO港人的MPF儲蓄，我們邀請你簽署這封聯署信。

請到這裏閱覽香港監察有關居英BNO港人被扣押MPF的最新簡報。

如想聯署，請按這裏。

— Start of letter to Group Chief Executive of HSBC 致滙豐集團行政總裁信件開端—

Dear Mr Elhedery,

We, the undersigned, are writing to urge HSBC to release the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) savings of Hong Kongers who are living in the UK under the British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme.

As you will be aware, in retaliation to the British government launching the BNO scheme in January 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that it would no longer recognise the BNO passport as a valid travel document or form of identity. This retaliatory action has been conducted by fiat with no laws or regulations being changed in Hong Kong regarding the operation of the MPF, yet continues to block an estimated 126,500 Hong Kongers from accessing £3 billion worth of their hard-earned MPF savings.

As an MPF trustee, HSBC oversees five MPF schemes and manages approximately 30 percent of the total MPF market, with assets totalling HK$329 billion (£33 billion). From this, we estimate that HSBC could thus be denying Hong Kongers access to as much as £887 million worth of assets in MPF holdings. 

As concerned Hong Kongers who have permanently departed from Hong Kong and now reside in Britain with UK-issued government documents, alongside our allies, we urge you to liaise with your advisors to immediately release our MPF savings. 

Please let us know if you would like more information, including details on specific cases. We would be happy to meet with you to discuss this pressing matter further.

We look forward to hearing from you.

— End of letter 信件結束—