New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS): Hong Kong's leader on Tuesday defended allowing the head of JP Morgan Chase to skip a three-week Covid-19 quarantine imposed on most other visitors, saying he worked for "a very big bank", Channel News Asia reported.

The comments came as Hong Kong also announced that more than 100 cargo pilots had been ordered into mandatory quarantine and that the city was at risk of running out of air crew.

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon landed on Monday for a 32-hour whirlwind tour without undergoing the usual 21-day hotel quarantine, even as the international business hub tightens restrictions to adhere to China's "zero-Covid" strategy, the report said.

Earlier this year, HSBC's boss was forced to undergo a full quarantine during a trip to the city.

"As far as I know, the reason was economic," Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam told reporters when asked why Dimon had been given a rare exemption, the report said.

"After all, it's a very big bank with important businesses in Hong Kong," she said, adding that the risk of transmission was low because Dimon's itinerary was short.

Hong Kong has maintained some of the world's harshest quarantine measures and travel restrictions during the pandemic, the report said.