Greater Bay Area’s tech talent search should be casting its net closer to home, with Hong Kong as its base

The ZTE saga has taught China a hard lesson that the country must be self-reliant in technological development and innovation. ZTE is a formidable Chinese telecoms equipment maker, the fourth largest in the world, but when the United States slapped a complete ban on exports of American chips, ZTE’s operations were abruptly halted. Being able to control and develop one’s own cutting-edge technology is the lifeline of every technology company, and it ultimately depends on talent.

The world is engaged in a raging competition for talent. Every government is acutely aware that people are the core of their competitive edge, people with deep scientific and technological knowledge, creative and innovative minds and strong digital skills. Hong Kong recently kicked off the Technology Talent Admission Scheme to fast-track immigration of foreign talent in a bid to boost the innovation and technology sector, with an annual quota of 1,000 over the next three years.

However, the scheme is casting its net too far and wide. By being applicable only to degree holders from universities of the top 100 universities in the STEM-related ranking tables of QS, Times Higher Education and Academic Ranking of World Universities, it seemingly fences out many talented people from China’s tertiary institutions. China is now home to some of the world’s top tech companies, with Tencent and Alibaba among the top 20 by market capitalisation, and has outpaced the world in many areas of innovation.

The country is on the verge of becoming the world’s technological leader and Hong Kong will only lose out if it does not ride this wave and attract more tech talent within the nation. I would therefore suggest expanding the scope to include the mainland’s 42 “Double First Class” universities in this scheme.