Developer Sino Group was among the first conglomerates leading the drive as it announced it would grant more than 11,000 staff members a half day of leave for voting on December 7 while promoting election awareness internally.

“This is particularly important as more than 90 per cent of our 10,000-plus colleagues in Hong Kong are frontline workers, who serve residents, mall and hotel patrons on weekends and Sundays,” Daryl Ng, chairman of Sino Group, told the Post on Friday.

“We strongly encourage all colleagues to cast their votes and contribute to Hong Kong’s continued prosperity, stability and good policy advancement.”

Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chairman of Lai Sun Development, also urged chambers of commerce and corporations to offer half-day “gratitude” leave to employees who provided a “thank you card” they had obtained after casting their ballots.

He said the suggestion had won the backing of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, among others.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board, a statutory body chaired by Lam which has around 300 staff in the city, said it would provide a half day of paid leave to its employees who needed to work on election day for “their participation in public service and community development”.