Hong Kong’s officials are confident that talent will come back and stay with city’s ‘0+3’ quarantine easing

Hong Kong’s ranking in the Global Financial Centres Index slipped to fourth place as many professionals left the city out of their frustration with Covid-19 rules

The exodus has led to a severe shortage of talent across the job market from banking to teaching, forcing many employers to raise their salaries to attract applicants

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Inbound travellers arrive at the Hong Kong International Airport after the government cancels its compulsory hotel quarantine on 26 September 2022. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 4:45pm, 27 Sep 2022Updated: 4:54pm, 27 Sep 2022

Hong Kong’s officials are confident that they can attract bankers, fund managers and other finance professionals to return to the city, now that one of the strongest reasons for their exodus has been removed with this week’s “0+3” quarantine rule.

The quarantine policies to contain “Covid-19 may have hampered our attractiveness and retention of talent, but we will soon reconnect with the world and talent will return,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said during the annual conference of the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB). “We are determined to roll out a message to attract more people to come [back] to Hong Kong.”

Chan’s confidence ran in the face of a survey by the London-based Z/Yen Partners, which showed Hong Kong slipping to fourth place out of 119 markets in the Global Financial Centres Index, behind New York, London and Singapore. More than 113,000 residents have left Hong Kong in the 12 months through June, according to government data, which did not show the number of new immigrants arriving in the same period.

The exodus has led to a severe shortage of talent across the job market from banking to teaching, forcing many employers to raise their salaries to attract applicants. Professionals with transferable skills, many of them with families abroad, were most prone to leaving because of their frustration with Hong Kong’s previous quarantine rules, slashed from 21 days last year to three days in August.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po speaking at the annual conference of the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB) on 27 September 2022. Photo: Handout

“It is clear that there has been an exodus of talent, both local and foreign, from Hong Kong, and Singapore is often a favoured destination,” said Lee Quane, Asia regional director at ECA International. Singapore’s recent changes in immigration policies “may succeed in retaining talent .. from Hong Kong to Singapore, particularly given the disparity in the two cities’ policies in dealing with Covid-19.”

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