Hong Kong tech firms woo talent from Southeast Asia with bigger pay packages amid brain drain
- Companies like Tutor Circle, Hong Kong’s biggest tutor-matching platform, are resorting to remote hires after exhausting recruitment search in the city
- Recruitment firms say their tech clients are increasingly open to the idea of hiring candidates from Southeast Asia
After a tedious and fruitless hunt for talent in Hong Kong, Tutor Circle founder and CEO Andy Ng decided to expand the company’s search to Southeast Asia, as the city’s largest tutor-matching platform had trouble finding suitable candidates locally.
Ng hired two remote software engineers from Malaysia to join his 20-strong team this year.
Tutor Circle is among a growing number of businesses in Hong Kong that are turning to Southeast Asia’s tech talent pool for skilled staff to combat the city’s brain drain in the sector.
“A significant number of Hong Kong’s young talent have jumped ship in recent years, resulting in a talent shortage,” Ng said. “With the increasing demand for tech talent in Hong Kong, higher hiring costs are needed to retain them.”
Hong Kong has seen a severe talent crunch in recent years. More than 200,000 expats and Hongkongers left the city between mid-2020 and last summer, following the social unrest and harsh quarantine measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.