Sleepless in Shanghai as Trading Floors Fill Up With Cots

(Bloomberg) — Banks, brokerages and asset management firms in Shanghai rushed to call staff into the office before a 5 a.m. lockdown Monday. Some asked employees to stay for days to keep operations going as the city responds to its worst Covid outbreak since early 2020.

Bank of Communications Co., Huatai Securities Co. and HFT Investment Management Co. were among companies alerting employees to make it back to the office to avoid being caught in the lockdown, according to people familiar with the directives. Many are calling on workers to prepare to sleep in the office, with one asset management firm offering an extra 2,000 yuan ($313) a night to camp out on weekdays and 4,000 yuan over the weekend, a person said.