Hong Kong exceeds three-year target ahead of schedule in talent rush

According to the Hong Kong headline daily network reported on December 23, the SAR government since the end of 2022 launched a number of talent admission scheme to fill manpower vacancies, received nearly 420,000 applications, about 175,000 people have arrived in Hong Kong, early exceeded the three-year introduction of 105,000 talents target. Among the talents coming to Hong Kong, 80% of them are ethnic Chinese, mainly engaged in finance and innovation and technology work, and most of them have brought their families to live in Hong Kong, which has stimulated the local rental market.

According to the report, the Immigration Department and the Legislative Council documents, in recent years, a number of talent program data show that the proportion of talents from the Mainland is very high. Last year, for example, excluding the “General Employment Policy” and “Admission of Second Generation of Hong Kong Permanent Residents of Chinese Nationality”, which do not provide mainland talents to apply, the remaining four major schemes, including the “High-end Talent Pass Scheme (High Talent Pass) The other four schemes include the “Highly Talented Persons Permit Scheme (HSPP)”, “Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS)”, “Arrangement for Non-local Graduates to Remain in Hong Kong/return to Hong Kong for Employment (IANG)”, and the “Science and Technology Admission Scheme (STAS)”. “A total of 88,900 applications were approved, of which 95% (about 84,600) were from Mainland applicants, with the “Highly Talented Persons” accounting for more than half of the total (about 47,000 applications), followed by the IANG (about 24,700 applications). Together with the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), which is open to applications from Mainland talents only, 104,000 Mainlanders were approved with Talent Endorsement last year. As at October this year, about 83,400 applications from the Mainland have been approved, with the “High Talent Pass” accounting for the largest number (about 32,600), followed by the “Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals” (21,300), which has already exceeded the figures of previous years; The number of approved applications from the Mainland under the IANG has also exceeded 20,000.

Statistics show that four of the five schemes have announced the industries or sectors of the applicants. From last year to September this year, the top three sectors are, in descending order, “financial and accounting services”, “information technology and telecommunications, innovation and technology” and “commerce and trade”. In addition, under the “14th Five-Year Plan”, Hong Kong is determined to develop into an international innovation and technology hub. In recent years, apart from attracting technology professionals from all over the world through the Science and Technology Talent Admission Scheme (STATS), it is worth noting that under the “Highly Talented Person Scheme” (HSP), about 1.5 million people have been admitted to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC). It is worth noting that under the “Highly Talented Persons Scheme”, about 16,000 people are engaged in the creation of science and technology and “information and communications technology services”, showing that mainland talents in the creation of science and technology are willing to join the relevant industries in Hong Kong.

When talents arrive in Hong Kong, they are accompanied by their spouses and children. Statistics show that in the five schemes related to mainland applicants last year, the number of dependants who had arrived in Hong Kong amounted to 72,300, of which 35,900 under the “Highly Talented Person Scheme” were the largest number; from January to October this year, the number of dependants who arrived in Hong Kong under the “Highly Talented Person Scheme” had exceeded that of last year, amounting to 41,900. From January to October this year, the number of “Highly Talented Persons” arriving in Hong Kong exceeded that of last year, reaching 41,900 people. According to Mr. Chan Wing-kit, Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific and President of Residential Department of Centaline Property, various talent programs have stimulated the rental market in Hong Kong, and rents have risen by more than 10% in the past two years. He revealed that most of the highly educated “high talent pass” people come to Hong Kong with their families, preferring middle-class housing estates close to Kowloon Station and Olympic Station, and can afford a monthly rent of HK$30,000 to HK$50,000 per month.

At the same time, the fact that these families come to Hong Kong with their children also promotes the development of Hong Kong's study market. Chief Executive Li Ka-chiu this year's “Policy Address” proposed to build “Study in Hong Kong” brand, the current academic year, eight subsidized universities to relax the quota of non-local students from 20% to 40%, the enrollment of non-local students of more than 17,000 people, 73% of whom come from the Mainland and Macao, etc., and some institutions have even set up a “Putonghua special class! Some institutions have even set up “Putonghua specialized classes”. Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, said Kong's working population in 2019 to 2022 years continued to decline, but last year the labor force increased by 40,000 people, half of which came from the 35-44-year-old age group, reflecting the various “grab talent” measures have received the effect.

According to Kong Yu Ren, architects, structural engineers and lawyers can now obtain mainland professional qualifications through mutual recognition of qualifications or examinations under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). Legislative Councillor Sheung Hoi-lung, who is also the president of the “Talent Link” Talent Service Association, said that it is equally important to get more talents and keep them to contribute to Hong Kong. Hong Kong's “Sing Tao Daily” said on the 23rd, the flow of the Bay Area will continue, coming to Hong Kong is expected to increase the number of talents, scholars and organizations believe that Hong Kong's industry is still a single, the creation of more industries, to provide employment opportunities for different talents will be the future of Hong Kong's important issues.