Hong Kong is eyeing Southeast Asia and Europe to diversify its pool of imported talent currently dominated by mainland Chinese, the city’s labour minister has said as the government seeks to ramp up global sourcing of professionals.
The latest official statistics show that non-mainlanders currently account for about 25 per cent, or 40,000 of admissions, across all talent schemes. Mainlanders, by contrast, accounted for more than 90 per cent of admissions under the Top Talent Pass Scheme, which was rolled out in December 2022 to lure high earners to the city.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Post, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said authorities were stepping up efforts in the coming year to attract overseas talent, with a focus on finance, trade and commerce, as well as tech professionals.
“We have rolled out multiple talent schemes in a bid to not only attract talent from the mainland but also from Southeast Asia and Europe,” Sun said. “For example, talent from Malaysia can speak both English and Mandarin, and many speak Cantonese as well, so they will not only help us [domestically], but also help forge connections with the Southeast Asian market.”
Assessing the government’s talent drive over the past two years, Sun said results had been “encouraging”. He noted the high quality and large quantity of professionals who had been recruited.
Sun explained the top talent scheme was dominated by mainlanders due to their strong awareness of the city’s latest policies, with local news easily going viral over the border. This did not always happen with Southeast Asian and Western countries.
Source: SCMP
