News from SCMP: 14 Jan 2023

  • Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun says response to Top Talent Pass Scheme shows locals city is attractive place
  • Government’s quest for foreign high-fliers will not harm local graduates who are still valued by authorities, minister adds
Hong Kongs drive to attract global talent gathers momentum as new scheme receives 5300 applications

Hong Kong’s drive to attract global talent gathers momentum as new scheme receives 5,300 applications

Hong Kong authorities have received at least 5,300 applications for a new scheme aimed at wooing global talent, the labour minister has revealed, saying the response had “exceeded” their expectations.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han on Saturday told a radio programme that 75 per cent of the applications received so far for the Top Talent Pass Scheme had been processed, with more than 90 per cent of those approved.

“The numbers have increased sharply over the past two weeks,” Sun said. “The response has been very good. It also shows our own people that Hong Kong is an attractive place. We are not giving the applicants homes, money or anything. We are only giving them a chance to come to Hong Kong to develop.”

He noted that the response to the scheme has “exceeded” their expectations, with the number of applications almost double the 2,600 received as of 4 January 2023.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun

The Top Talent Scheme, which offers qualifying applicants a two-year visa, was announced in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s maiden policy address in October, when he outlined plans to attract experienced high-fliers and graduates from the world’s most prestigious universities to the city.

The scheme is open to individuals who have earned no less than HK$2.5 million (US$318,472) over the past 12 months and graduates from the world’s top 100 universities who have been working for three of the past five years.

The government has not set any limit on the number of applicants from either group.

Applicants who graduated from one of the top 100 universities in the past five years but who have not yet worked for three years will also be eligible, with the number capped at 10,000 a year.
The scheme is similar to one unveiled earlier by Singapore to lure professionals earning about HK$2 million annually. They will be allowed to be employed by several companies at the same time, and their spouses will also get permission to work.

Sun shrugged off concerns that the government’s push for overseas talent would affect local graduates’ opportunities. He emphasised that Hongkongers were still valued by authorities, which was shown by the city’s investment in education and training.

During the radio programme, the minister also spoke about the government’s decision to increase the statutory minimum wage from HK$37.50 to HK$40 after a four-year pay freeze.

The gradual increase from the 2011 starting point of HK$28 per hour to HK$40 had beaten out the rate of inflation by “just a little bit”, Sun said.

The minimum wage was previously increased every two years and hit HK$37.50 by 2019 before the amount was frozen for the first time in 2021 after authorities blamed an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.