(Yicai Global) May 31 -- Staff at banks and asset management companies in Lujiazui, Shanghai’s Wall Street, are finally returning to their homes, some after more than 60 days camped out in offices, following the lifting of the city’s Covid-19 lockdown.

“One of our fund managers went home today,” an insider at one such firm told Yicai Global yesterday. “She’d been stationed at the company for more than 60 days.” The firm has booked vehicles to take staff home, the person added.

The Shanghai government announced yesterday that the city of 25 million people and an important financial and manufacturing hub will begin to resume normal life and work from June 1, following a strict citywide lockdown to eradicate Covid-19.

Another source at a state-owned bank said employees stuck in their offices have been told they will be able to leave from tomorrow, when other staff will come in to replace them. But the person noted that it is unclear when it will be possible for them to commute daily.

“It’s expected that staff will take shifts for now,” he said. “A few weeks ago, almost all of our colleagues were in the pandemic control area, and there was no one to take shifts. The situation’s much better now.”

To ensure normal financial markets operations and important financial and economic activities, financial institutions, including banks, many public funds, asset management companies, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, began emergency operations on the night of March 27, when Shanghai brought in measures to control the resurgence of Covid-19. That required some key staff to rush back to their offices.

While most banks could also operate remotely, some large lenders still needed key staff to be present to ensure normal business operations. For example, for financial market departments, it is the responsibility of market makers to provide continuous quotes and maintain liquidity. This is even more so for state-owned banks with huge capital volumes and large domestic and foreign customer bases.

Shanghai’s entire bus and rail transport network will restart tomorrow, with residents looking forward to getting back to their daily work commute.

All major industrial companies in the Lingang New Area and the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone are back up and running, while more than 90 percent of major industrial firms in suburban Jinshan district have resumed work, Wu Jincheng, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economic and Informatization, said at a press conference on May 29.

Editor: Peter Thomas