Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Closes Hong Kong Office, Putting Focus in India and Singapore

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board office is shown in Toronto, on Sept. 28, 2021. The Canadian Press/Cole Burston

The organization administering pensions for over 300,000 Ontario teachers is closing its Hong Kong office.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan says it is closing its Hong Kong office, the first it established in the Asia Pacific in 2013, as part of an effort to “optimize” its presence in the region. The decision, made earlier this year, was announced in an unrelated March 20 press release.

Teachers’ spokesperson Dan Madge said they will be winding down their operations in Hong Kong over the next year and a half or more, and will focus operations in Singapore and Mumbai. Offices in those regions were opened in 2020 and 2022, respectively.

“We will be optimizing our footprint in the Asia-Pacific region through our offices in Singapore and Mumbai, where we have teams focused across asset classes and regional markets,” said Madge in a statement. “As a result, we have made the difficult decision to close our Hong Kong office.”

The organization invests globally to generate returns that fund the pensions of its 343,000 active and retired Ontario teachers. By the end of last year, it managed net assets of $266.3 billion and had a preliminary funding surplus of $29.1 billion as of Jan. 1.

The closure of Teachers’ Hong Kong office comes amid trade and diplomatic tensions between China and Canada. Earlier this month, Beijing imposed tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, following Ottawa’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and steel and aluminum products last year.

Last December, Canada imposed sanctions on eight Chinese senior officials accused of “grave human rights violations,” saying the move was in response to the Chinese regime-led repression of ethnic and religious minorities, including the Muslim Uyghurs from the Chinese region of Xinjiang, Tibetans, and practitioners of Falun Gong, a meditative spiritual practice.

In a recent escalation of tensions between Canada and China, Ottawa confirmed last week that China has executed four Canadians this year. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada “strongly condemns” Beijing’s decision, and that it continues to ask for leniency for Canadians facing similar situations.

When asked whether the decision to close their Hong Kong office was related to geopolitical tensions, Teachers’ spokesperson Prudence Lai declined to comment, saying Madge’s statement was the only available information.

Teachers has previously taken steps in an apparent retreat from China. In 2023, it paused direct investments in private assets in that country, with sources telling Reuters that geopolitical risks were a factor. Later that year, the organization shut down its Hong Kong-based China equity investment team, while its Hong Kong office remained open at the time.

Canadian pension plans, including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), have for years been investing in Chinese assets, even in companies deemed a security risk by the Canadian government.

As previously reported by The Epoch Times, the CPPIB has investments in Chinese company ByteDance, even though the Canadian government has banned its TikTok subsidiary from operating in Canada. As well, the board has also invested in Chinese company Tencent, even though its social media app, WeChat, was the subject of a warning to MPs due to security reasons.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan said its Hong Kong office currently focuses on overseas markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and Japan, adding that those operations can be “effectively and efficiently served out of Singapore.”

It added that as a result of the recently announced closure, some Hong Kong-based employees will have the option to transfer to Singapore, while others will be let go.

“We’re working to support each of them,” Madge said.

Reuters contributed to this report.