A SINGAPORE Government minister has made a new pitch for Hongkong people to migrate there after announcing that the number of Hongkongers who have taken up permanent residence since July 1989 had reached about 4,700.
This is the first official estimate of Hongkong immigrants since early last year, when the number was reported to be about 3,500.
Speaking at the third annual dinner of the Kowloon Club, an association for Hongkongers living in Singapore, Dr Aline Wong, the Minister of State for Health, said the immigrants formed a ''small but significant community''.
Dr Wong said Singapore and Hongkong had much in common. Both had dynamic economies with modern infrastructures.
Hongkongers should consider these common factors when deciding whether to migrate to Singapore, she said.
In July 1989, Singapore liberalised its immigration rules with the specific aim of attracting Hongkongers.