The Hong Kong skyline is barely visibile due to heavy pollution as a ferry crosses Victoria harbour in Hong Kong.
© AFP/File Samantha Sin

HONG KONG (AFP) - Nearly 80 percent of the 140 top executives polled felt Hong Kong's allure is falling, with four out of five knowing professionals who have considered leaving or have already left due to the air quality.

Some 94 percent of the executives of multi-national companies, which collectively employ 250,000 people in the city, ranked air quality as their major environmental concern, with 59 percent believing the problem may cause their firms to invest elsewhere.

The study, conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), also found a quarter of the companies have experienced difficulties in recruiting professionals to the city.

Over half of them know of workers who declined to come to Hong Kong because of the pollution, and 95 percent said they are worried the air quality would cause long-term damage to themselves and their children.

"This survey reinforces AmChams concern that air pollution not only threatens our health, but Hong Kongs preeminent position as the financial services capital of Asia," said Alan Seigrist, chairman of AmChams Environment Committee.

Pollution has become a hot political issue in Hong Kong as smog levels have risen to often dangerous levels. Poor air quality reduced visibility to less than one kilometer (about half a mile) on more than 50 days last year.

The government says the problem is mostly due to the industrialisation of southern China's nearby Pearl River Delta region, while green groups also blame local coal-burning power stations and diesel-powered buses.

AmCham Chairman Steve Marcopoto urged both the local and the neighbouring Guangdong governments to step up efforts to combat the problem.

"This study is intended to give us all cause to pause and see which way the economic winds will blow if we do not fully support and call to account Hong Kong and Guangdong government authorities in efforts to make breathing in Hong Kong safe again," he said.

Sponsors of the survey include ExxonMobil, FedEx, Morgan Stanley and Time Warner.

©AFP