HK talent schemes receive 320,000 applications, ahead of target

Hong Kong has received more than 320,000 applications to its talents scheme by the end of June this year and 200,000 of them have been approved.

Since the scheme establishment in 2022, over 130,000 talents have arrived in Hong Kong through various talent admission schemes as of June 2024, exceeding the target of attracting altogether 105,000 talents in three years leading up to 2025.

Alongside the arrival of talents, their families have also come and settled in Hong Kong. A total of about 120,000 dependants have arrived in Hong Kong.

According to the Labour and Welfare Bureau, these outside quality talents and their families have a positive impact on Hong Kong’s labour force and inject momentum into the development of local economy.

On the other hand, the Labour and Welfare Bureau earlier conducted a survey on talents who had arrived in Hong Kong for more than six months with the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) visas.

The results show that 54% of the incoming talents have been in employment, mainly in industries such as financial services, innovation, information and communication technology services, commerce and trade, which are all key industries of Hong Kong.

Their salaries are generally higher than the average salaries in Hong Kong, with median monthly employment earnings of about HK$50,000.

The survey also reveals that 25% of the talents receive a monthly income of HK$100,000 or above, while 10% receive HK$200,000 or above. It is projected that the TTPS entrants who arrived in Hong Kong in 2023 will contribute directly to Hong Kong’s economy by an amount of some HK$34 billion per annum, which is equivalent to about 1.2% of the local gross domestic product.

The LWB will continue to monitor the arrivals of incoming talents and provide them with support through the Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE).

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Back in March, the city's labour minister Chris Sun revealed that over half of the 40,000 people who moved to Hong Kong through the TTPS have found jobs.

Sun said at a job fair specifically organised for talent pass holders that the talent scheme, implemented since December 2022, had received around 70,000 applications, with 55,000 of them approved.

Sun said the government's primary focus is to facilitate the connection between top talent pass holders and companies that require a significant number of skilled individuals to contribute to the economy.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to HKTE for more information.

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