Hong Kong bankers pack hotels near offices for typhoon trading

High alert: People stand with umbrellas under heavy rain and wind during Typhoon Ragasa yesterday. It marked the biggest test yet for a change implemented last year by the Hong Kong stock exchange to keep trading open during severe weather. — AFP

HONG KONG: Bankers and traders hunkered down at home or booked hotels near the office as Super Typhoon Ragasa descended on the Asian financial hub.

The big international banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley and HSBC Holdings Plc, told most employees to work from home before the typhoon unleashed a deluge of rain and winds of up to 195km per hour early yesterday.