Foreign talent lures may include tax cuts, student visa perks

Tax cuts and extensions of student visas for mainlanders and other nonlocals should be offered to attract talented young people to stay in Hong Kong, legislators say.

Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said the SAR must act proactively in securing talent as it faces manpower pressures and a low birth rate.

At the same time, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Australia have launched policies to lure talent.

Besides extending mainland and overseas student visas to encourage them to move into jobs in Hong Kong, Lee said, the children of expatriate workers could be admitted to local public schools.

The low tax rate is also a plus for Hong Kong, she said, and the administration should help talented people working in the SAR buy homes.

Tony Tse Wai-chuen, who represents the architectural, surveying, planning and landscape sector, said officials should shape a talent policy, including how to retain and retrain people based on needs of specific sectors. He also backed subsidies to buy homes.

There could also be tax reductions for talented people, he added, but there must be safeguards against abuse.

Executive Council member Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung suggested there be a designated office to head the push for talent.

"I'm worried about the brain drain because many people emigrating are professionals in the engineering, technology and financial sectors," he said.

Lam noted too that Singapore is a major competitor in attracting talent.

"Singapore is targeting us," he said. "Every time we come up with a new measure they launch one right after us. And we don't have new measures that are efficient enough to fight their new ones."

He also said there could be tax cuts for foreign talent, but the same or better benefits should go to local youngsters.

Legislators said planners should reconsider the idea of building public housing in the former Lamma Quarry and even buying units in the Greater Bay Area for public housing tenants.

Lai Tung-kwok said residents on Lamma Island are disappointed the administration gave up on developing the quarry and so officials should revisit the idea so more residential units can be provided.

Another legislator, Stanley Ng Chau-pei, agreed the SAR could buy flats in the Greater Bay Area for Hongkongers.

Also on homes, the executive director of the Federation of Public Housing Estates, Anthony Chiu Kwok-wai, urged Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to guarantee a public housing supply and to set a cap on waiting time in his first policy address.

A survey showed people wait an average of 4.6 years for a public housing unit, with the longest wait 18 years.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com