An upturn in the SAR economy and a rise in infrastructure development has led to an increase in the demand for Gurkha security guards.
Chris Hardy, managing director of Jardine Securicor Gurkha Services, said the company was adding 200 of the former Nepalese soldiers to its existing 600 guards in the coming year.
He said after the handover, with the completion of the Chek Lap Kok airport and the Tsing Ma Bridge, there was a noticeable downturn, about 40 per cent, in the demand for Gurkha services as companies cut back in their security budgets, a situation which was now changing.
'Now it is almost de rigueur to have Gurkha security if you have a top-class property or you are rich and famous,' said Mr Hardy. He estimates there are about 4,000 Gurkhas in the SAR.