Professionals recruited under Hong Kong talent scheme earning median of HK$50,000 a month, double what locals make
- City leader John Lee also says Top Talent Pass Scheme estimated to have added HK$34 billion to economy, equal to 1.2 per cent of GDP
- Lee notes scheme has attracted almost 70,000 applications since its launch one year ago, with nearly 79 per cent being approved
The median monthly income of professionals recruited under Hong Kong’s leading talent admission scheme is HK$50,000 (US$6,390), more than double what locals are earning, and they are generating the equivalent of 1.2 per cent of the gross domestic product, the city’s leader has revealed.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Thursday the Top Talent Pass Scheme, which his administration introduced in December 2022 to counter a wave of emigration and bolster growth, was estimated to have added HK$34 billion to the HK$2.84 trillion economy.
“That’s equivalent to 1.2 per cent of our GDP,” he said.
Lee also noted the scheme had attracted almost 70,000 applications since its launch, with nearly 79 per cent being approved, almost 73 per cent of whom had already arrived. About 90 per cent of the talent came from mainland China.
“The heartening outcome shows that the scheme, which has just entered its first anniversary, has made significant contributions to expanding Hong Kong’s high-quality talent pool,” he said.
Most of the new arrivals were taking up high-skilled service and managerial jobs, with the median monthly income reaching HK$50,000, Lee said, citing a survey conducted by the Labour and Welfare Bureau in November. A quarter of them made more than HK$100,000 a month, he added.
According to figures released in the third quarter of last year, Hong Kong’s median monthly wage was HK$20,500.