Hong Kong talent scheme set to benefit India workers, but Singapore and Dubai offer competition

Hong Kong has been able to largely retain its existing Indian talent pool, with diaspora businesses embedded in city for generations and staying put

City needs to further relax policies on recognition of credentials to attract more Indian talent, stave off competition from Singapore and Dubai, analyst notes

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Hong Kong has rolled out new measures to attract global talent. Photo: AP

Published: 8:30am, 30 Oct 2022Updated: 2:15pm, 30 Oct 2022

Hong Kong’s reinvigorated efforts to lure global talent may entice more professionals from India, business community leaders suggest, as the city seeks to re-engage with the world following more than two years of stringent Covid-19 border restrictions and the social unrest of 2019.

The recruitment drive, announced by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his maiden policy address on October 19, will include incentives for high earners and top university graduates.

Lee acknowledged the new measures aimed to turn things around, with the city’s local workforce having shrunk by about 140,000 and a plunge in the number of visas issued recently. “Apart from actively nurturing and retaining local talent, the government will proactively trawl the world,” he said.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee. Photo: AP

According to government statistics, 13,821 visas were issued last year under the general employment policy, compared with 14,617 in 2020. These numbers are a far cry from the 41,793 visas approved before the pandemic in 2019.

India – which offers a deep talent pool in a number of industries, including tech, finance and logistics – is well positioned to benefit from these new measures, industry insiders say.

Hong Kong has been able to largely retain its existing Indian talent pool, and as a result, still presents itself as a popular destination for prospective Indian workers who are encouraged by continued positive feedback from the diaspora in the city, these insiders say.

Gautam Bardoloi, president of the Forum of Indian Professionals in Hong Kong, said the worker exodus from the city over the past two years had not been reflected in the Indian professional community.