Since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Hong Kong has imposed some of the world’s most stringent rules on travelers to the Asian financial hub. Virtually all arrivals from places other than mainland China and Macau still must spend days in quarantine and prove they are free of Covid-19 before they can move about freely. The travel restrictions have been deeply unpopular with Hong Kong’s international finance and business community, which has lobbied for them to be removed.

The city’s November financial summit—which is meant to signal a reopening of the Asian financial center and showcase the opportunities Hong Kong still offers—has raised hopes that the government will lift restrictions on all travelers. The Hong Kong stock market is among the world’s top fundraising venues, and the city has long been an important hub for global banks and money managers.

As the event date approaches, some heads of large financial institutions have indicated that they are keen to attend the conference, but they won’t travel to Hong Kong if the current quarantine rules remain in place, according to people familiar with the matter.

The top executives also don’t want exemptions from those rules, because of the negative optics of being given special treatment while most employees from their companies and the rest of the city are still subject to those restrictions, the people said.

Last year, actress

Nicole Kidman

and

JPMorgan Chase

& Co. Chief Executive

Jamie Dimon

were granted such privileges when traveling to the city, episodes that triggered local outrage. Top executives from

HSBC Holdings

PLC and

Prudential

PLC have, in contrast, followed Hong Kong’s quarantine rules and isolated in hotels when visiting the city.

The arrangement that has been discussed with prospective conference attendees has been billed as “0+7,” meaning zero days spent in isolation upon entering Hong Kong, followed by seven days of health monitoring and restricted access to certain public venues such as restaurants.

The city currently has a “3+4” policy for international arrivals, requiring individuals to spend three days confined to a hotel room. If they test negative for Covid-19, they can move around with restrictions for the next four days.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s

David Solomon,

Citigroup Inc.’s

Jane Fraser

and

Morgan Stanley’s

James Gorman

are among the chief executives who have been invited to the conference at the Four Seasons Hotel situated on Hong Kong’s waterfront. Attendees would also stay at the venue, and executives are expected to have closed-door meetings with the city’s financial regulators.

Some of the invitees were told they would be able to attend a welcome dinner at the hotel on the event’s first day, and that it didn’t contradict with restrictions on entering restaurants, people familiar with the matter said.

A spokesperson for the HKMA said the authority is in discussion with “relevant stakeholders about the appropriate arrangements to facilitate the hosting of the event.”

A spokesman for the office of Hong Kong Chief Executive

John Lee

said that, in designing the city’s Covid-19 measures, it would seek to contain the number of infections, reduce the number of deaths and protect high-risk groups while striking a “balance between risks and economic impetus, safeguarding the livelihood of the public and Hong Kong’s competitiveness.”

Mr. Lee, who took office July 1, on Thursday said mainland authorities have expressed support for what his administration has proposed as a “reverse quarantine,” which would allow people in Hong Kong to isolate at a facility in the city before crossing the border. Currently, travelers to mainland China are required to spend seven days in a hotel in the country followed by three days of home monitoring, down from 21 previously, after authorities revised rules in a bid to boost the economy.

The Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, which was for years a highlight on Asia’s sporting and networking calendar, is scheduled to take place between Nov. 4 and 6 after the HKMA conference.

Organizers of the tournament, which in late July received a nod from the government to go ahead, have proposed a downsized version of the event and a “closed loop” system for the athletes and support staff, modeled on the one used at the Beijing Winter Olympics earlier this year that sealed off participants from the public.

Write to Jing Yang at Jing.Yang@wsj.com and Elaine Yu at elaine.yu@wsj.com