Hong Kong firms seek offshore talent as some expats harried by Covid-19 restrictions eye exits, online recruitment platform says

A lot of people want to be based in countries with fewer travel restrictions, says CEO of online recruitment platform Glints
Local technology sector was leading the search for remote workers

Hong Kong expats

Cyril Ip

Published: 10:00am, 10 Apr 2022

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The number of Hong Kong companies looking to hire offshore workers has risen following an outflow of expats leaving for Singapore, which scrapped its Covid-19 restrictions last month, and elsewhere.

Hong Kong’s fifth and severest wave of Covid-19 infections led to the introduction of the city’s most stringent anti-epidemic measures, driving Hong Kong-based professionals to seek international opportunities, data from online recruitment platform Glints shows. It has also pushed firms in the city to find overseas talent through the platform.

“A lot of people working in Hong Kong are looking to … be based in countries where there are fewer travel restrictions,” said Oswald Yeo, CEO and co-founder of Singapore-based Glints. The platform provides matching services for Southeast Asian companies looking for professionals for remote work. Its clients in Hong Kong increased by 75 per cent between 2019 and 2021.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Hong Kong’s leader, recently conceded that the city’s restrictions had contributed to exits by talent. Last week, the government lifted flight bans on nine countries and shortened the hotel quarantine requirement to seven days. But non-residents are still barred, except those arriving from mainland China, Macau and Taiwan. This has driven professionals to neighbouring markets, notably Singapore, which has a similar economic system to the special administrative region.

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About 70 per cent of offshore talent hired by Hong Kong companies through Glints last year came from Indonesia, 25 per cent from Vietnam and the rest from across regional hubs such as Taiwan and the Philippines.

The local technology sector was leading the search for remote workers, Yeo said. “More companies are planning digital transformations, but there’s not enough supply of [technology] talent, which is why a lot of companies are looking beyond their own shores and tapping remote and offshore hiring,” he added.

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Offshore hiring could also save costs, while fulfilling increasing expectations among workers of flexible work arrangements. “Now that everyone is working from home anyway, it doesn’t matter if they are not in the same office, and the pandemic has accelerated that trend,” Yeo said.

Expats were more open to moving between countries than locals, as job opportunities were the most important consideration for them, said Edmund Wong Chun-sek, who represents the city’s accountants in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council.

“If we’d like to attract or retain expatriate talent, be it from the mainland or overseas, we must clarify our competitive advantages, given that they may already have reasonable jobs in other well-respected economies,” he said.

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People leaving Hong Kong were mainly expats in managerial positions, especially those who were concerned about their children’s education, which has been disrupted by the latest outbreak, said Chinese University economics professor Terence Chong Tai-leung.

In-person classes have been suspended since January 14 and the summer holidays started on March 7 this year. With infections falling to under-3,000 levels, the authorities have announced a gradual resumption that begins on April 19.

Chong, however, believes it was a temporary phenomenon that will improve as infections are curtailed and rules are relaxed. “Hong Kong is a free-market economy, where salaries are at international standards,” he said. “Once the borders are completely reopened, the void can be easily filled.”

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The shortage of talent can also be solved by allowing more mainland Chinese to move to the city. “We don’t lack people,” Chong said. “We still have policies limiting the number of mainland professionals who can work in the city – they can quickly fill the [empty] positions.”