Over 100,000 applications approved for talent admission schemes

The administration has approved over 100,000 applications under various talent admission schemes and 60,000 people have landed in Hong Kong, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said.

Among the successful applications, nearly 40,000 candidates came to the SAR through the Top Talent Pass scheme and 70 percent of them are aged below 40, he said.

The Top Talent Pass scheme was launched in December last year for people abroad, who earn more than HK$2.5 million annually and graduated from the world's top 100 universities with at least three years of work experience over the past five years.

Speaking at the Hong Kong International Talent Summit yesterday, Chan said the SAR launched various measures to attract talent at the end of last year due to local manpower shortage.

The administration had received some 160,000 applications as of September, he said, adding over 100,000 applications were approved and 60,000 talents have arrived - higher than the annual target of 35,000.

Chan said the SAR had also launched the Hong Kong Talent Engage - a platform to promote local talent strategies and assist incoming talents.

"[The platform] will provide living and employment information for incoming talent and help them expand their social network, so that they can enjoy their new lives in Hong Kong. More people will then realize Hong Kong is a liveable city and will be willing to move to the SAR," he said.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said one-third of successful applicants under the top talent pass scheme are aged below 30 and 70 percent are below 40.

"Most talents approved under the scheme are young, which is important as the city is facing the challenge of the aging population," he said, adding they are highly educated and earning high salaries.

Sun said the scheme is attractive, as the selected candidates can bring along their spouses and children.

Meanwhile, nearly 30 global enterprises focusing on life and health technology, artificial intelligence and data science, fintech and new energy plan to set up offices in Hong Kong, investing more than HK$30 billion and creating over 10,000 job opportunities, Chan said.

"Among the first batch of companies introduced to the SAR, some are leading companies while others are smaller but obtain cutting-edge technologies in their fields," he said.

"The settlement of leading enterprises will help attract their related companies to Hong Kong, accelerating the establishment of industrial clusters, while the smaller and innovative companies motivate the SAR's scientific development," he explained.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com