Hong Kong launches US$15.5 million subsidy plan to encourage companies to hire 1,000 fintech professionals
- Companies can hire one fintech professional, apply for HK$10,000 subsidy per month for a year starting Thursday
- Candidates must be Hong Kong residents, companies must be registered in city
Hong Kong has launched a new HK$120 million (US$15.5 million) wage subsidy plan that will encourage companies in the financial sector to hire 1,000 financial technology professionals over the next 12 months.
The government will subsidise the salary of one full-time new hire with HK$10,000 every month for a year as part of the FinTech Anti-epidemic Scheme for Talent Development (FAST), and companies can apply for the funds from Thursday, Christopher Hui Ching-yu, the city’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, said on Wednesday.
“FAST aims to create new job opportunities in the fintech sector and enrich Hong Kong’s fintech talent pool to enhance the city’s competitive edge, and reinforce its position as a leading international financial centre,” Hui said. “While fintech will add new opportunities, companies will need to inject new capital to develop new services. It will not be easy for companies to decide to add extra capital amid the current market environment, which is full of uncertainties,” he added.
FAST is the latest in a series of plans launched by the Hong Kong government to prevent more job losses and to create new jobs. The city’s unemployment rate hit 5.9 per cent in the three months from March to May, its worst in 15 years. The rate of unemployment among those aged 15 to 25 stood at 18.2 per cent.
The scheme is part of the government’s HK$6 billion Anti-epidemic Fund, which aims to create about 30,000 jobs in the next two years, according to Hui.
Candidates qualifying for FAST jobs must be Hong Kong residents with qualifications such as a university degree or other accredited certification in artificial intelligence, blockchain, information technology, accounting or business management. Companies applying for FAST funds must be registered in Hong Kong and have commenced business before January 1, 2020. They must also be conducting substantive fintech activities at a fixed physical office in the city.