Top talents contribute directly to economy: labor minister says

Talents moving to Hong Kong via the top talent pass scheme are making “direct contributions” to Hong Kong’s economy as more than half of them are taking up managerial and professional jobs, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said.

He was responding to labor sector lawmaker Chau Siu-chung’s inquiry about the “underutilization of high-caliber talents,” as some could not find jobs matching their professions and remained unemployed or could only take up lower-level posts.

Sun said many talents have gradually embarked on their careers in the SAR after the top talent pass scheme was launched two years ago.

“According to the follow-up surveys earlier conducted by the Labour and Welfare Bureau, more than half of the incoming talents have been in employment, mainly taking up managerial and professional jobs with median monthly employment earnings of about HK$50,000. The monthly employment earnings of about a quarter of the talents reach HK$100,000 or above,” he said.

Sun added that nearly 20 percent of the talents’ spouses have also been employed in Hong Kong, mostly taking up high-skilled jobs.

“Based on these survey results, the [scheme] entrants and their spouses contribute directly to Hong Kong's economy,” he said.

“More than half of them are aged under 40, with many bringing their young children to settle in Hong Kong. This adds new impetus to the local labor force and brings about a positive impact on Hong Kong's demographic structure.”

Sun also said the government has received over 116,000 applications to the scheme and approved nearly 92,000 as of last month. More than 75,000 talents have arrived in Hong Kong with their families.

The government aims to retain talent, but whether they can ultimately stay in the SAR depends on their own conditions and various factors, he said.

(Wallis Wang)