Hong Kong may benefit from stricter Singapore policy on hiring of foreigners
Lion City seeks to favour locals in hirings under its 'Fair Consideration Framework'; foreign professionals may now opt for Hong Kong
Hong Kong and Shanghai may have lost out to Singapore in the hunt for foreign talent over the years, but manpower experts believe a reversal is looming as the Lion City tightens the rules on the hiring of staff from overseas.
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower announced last September that under its new "Fair Consideration Framework", companies would need to consider locals before hiring from abroad.
"These changes are part of a broader effort to ensure that good jobs continue to be created for Singaporeans," said Tan Chuan-jin, acting minister for manpower at the time.
Starting from the first quarter of this year, companies with a disproportionately low concentration of Singaporeans at professional, managerial and executive level compared with other companies may be chosen for additional scrutiny.
Nick Marsh, managing director of recruitment firm Harvey Nash Asia Pacific, said over the years international companies and talented professionals had left Hong Kong and Shanghai for Singapore, mainly because of air pollution, limited school places and high rents.
"Lots of foreigners cannot get places in schools in Hong Kong. And they can get that in Singapore," Marsh said. "The regular conversations you have with foreigners in Hong Kong is, 'I have just had my rent hiked … 50 per cent'. It's either they cannot afford to live here or this is so stressful. 'I can go to Singapore and get an apartment for half the price'."