HK inks deal with Macau and GBA cities to foster a cross-border talent hub

Hong Kong has inked deal with Macau and other nine Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities in Guangdong to build a talent hub in the GBA and strengthen talent development and tripartite co-operation. 

As part of the Global Talent Summit on 8 May 2024, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance talent co-operation was signed in the Second Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) High-quality Talent Development Conference jointly organised by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. 

According to an official statement from the Hong Kong government, the MOU aims to implement the national policy of building a talent hub in the GBA through talent exchanges, co-operation, joint promotions, recruitment, and the development of a talent services platform.

The chief secretary for administration, Eric Chan, emphasised in the welcome remark that Hong Kong is a highly open international city and is also one of the core cities in the GBA.

“Under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, Hong Kong gives full play to the advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, serving as a talent hub and gateway of both the GBA and the country,” added Chan.

According to Chan, Hong Kong has relaunched global talent recruitment with innovative strategies and enhanced its higher education system to nurture local talent. As a bridge between Mainland China and the world, Hong Kong actively engages in a “southbound and northbound” two-way flow of talent exchange.

Chan said the collaboration between Hong Kong and the sister cities of the GBA will further enhance strategic planning in talent admission, nurturing, and mobility. The goal is to accelerate the development of a talent hub in the GBA  and contribute to the country’s high-quality development.

After the signing, secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said that Hong Kong needs to adopt a proactive, open, and effective talent admission policy to cope with the shortage of workers in different sectors. 

“The world is seeing increasing competition for talent as we face difficulties presented by an ageing population and shrinking labour force in Hong Kong,” said Sun. 

The government has implemented a series of bold and innovative measures since end-2022, including launching the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), which targets talent with high income and graduates of high academic qualifications, updating the talent list to reflect the latest shortage of professional and technical talent spanning different fields, and enhancing various prevailing talent admission schemes. 

According to Sun, Hong Kong’s talent policies have received approximately 290,000 applications since the end of April. Among them, around 66% or 180,000 applications have been approved. Surpassing the government’s annual target of 35,000 candidates, approximately 120,000 approved applicants have relocated to Hong Kong. 

Under the top talent pass scheme, these professionals earn up to HK$200,000 (US$25,572) per month and have collectively contributed an estimated HK$34 billion to the economy since their arrival, accounting for 1.2% of the gross domestic product. Notably, two-thirds of the incoming professionals are aged 40 and below.

Sun mentioned that 43% of those who obtained a visa under the top talent pass scheme have settled in Hong Kong, while 90% of the remaining 57% expressed their intention to come to the city and work within the following year.

Join us this coming 26 June for Content360 Hong Kong, a one-day-two-streams extravaganza under the theme of "Content that captivates". Get together with our fellow marketers to learn about AI in content creation, integration of content with commerce and cross-border targeting, and find the recipe for success within the content marketing world!

Related articles:

NWD and HK Disneyland team up to nab GBA 'Travel-tainment' opportunities
DDB merges HK and Guangzhou offices to strengthen Greater Bay Area offering