“Over the past few months, we have sequentially introduced various types of enhancements to our quarantine rules to offer more ease to travellers, and also to offer more ease for people in Hong Kong to go about their lives,” Hui said in an interview.

Hong Kong and China are among the last remaining places that continue to maintain compulsory coronavirus quarantine restrictions for visitors. Last month, the city cut the hotel quarantine requirement from seven days to three.

However, Hui would not be drawn into the quarantine debate, and refused to comment on the government’s quarantine rules, which have led to an exodus of expatriates. The issue has grown so dire that some companies have resorted to offering a hardship allowance to attract people to Hong Kong.

On the fintech talent front, a new round of cash grants will be offered to attract start-ups to Cyberport, the city’s tech hub. The government has earmarked HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) for the new round of the Fintech Proof-of-Concept subsidy scheme, applications for which open on September 10.

Last year, 90 projects were given grants totalling HK$10 million.

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Hong Kong cuts Covid-19 hotel quarantine for overseas travellers to 3 days plus 4 days at home

Hong Kong cuts Covid-19 hotel quarantine for overseas travellers to 3 days plus 4 days at home

The government is also working on attracting overseas professionals in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) sector and is simultaneously keen to develop local talent to promote Hong Kong as a hub for green finance, Hui said.

The government drew up a talent list in 2018 with a view to attract high quality professionals to support the city’s development into a high value-added and diversified economy. ESG was added to the list in last year’s review and immigration requirements have been relaxed.

Those who wish to come to Hong Kong need to have a bachelor’s degree in ESG and relevant experience. They do not require an employment offer from a local company and can bring their dependents with them.

“Being an ESG hub, we need to have the right talent. And that is why on this front, the government will provide support in terms of training the professionals in Hong Kong to allow them to acquire the ESG knowledge and standards,” Hui said.

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Many companies in the city have identified talent shortages as a serious problem. More than 113,000 residents left the city in the 12 months to the end of June, according to government data released last month.

One in five global fund management companies operating in Hong Kong is offering hardship allowances to attract overseas talent to the city, according to a survey by the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association (HKIFA) in July.

“Shortening of the hotel quarantine from seven days to three days has helped,” she said. “But we need to move the dial from ‘3’ to ‘0’ as soon as possible. This last mile is critical.”

Hui, however, was confident that Hong Kong can attract talent from around the world in the long term. “Basically, if you are to cover China, and Asia at large, Hong Kong is the ideal location,” he said.

Hui also said he will visit Southeast Asia soon but did not reveal the destination. He said he wants to encourage more companies in the region to come to list in Hong Kong.

“We can see that Asean and other Asian economies are growing,” he said. “Hong Kong can position itself not just as a fundraising centre for companies from the mainland, but also for companies from Asia to help them grow.”