Hong Kong offers new visa to woo talent amid brain drain
Published:Wednesday | October 19, 2022 | 9:16 PM
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's leader on Wednesday unveiled a new visa scheme to woo global talent, as the city seeks to stem a brain drain that is undermining its status as an international financial centre.
Chief Executive John Lee said the new Top Talent Pass Scheme will allow those earning an annual salary of 2.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($318,472) or more and graduates of the world's top universities to work or pursue opportunities in the city for two years.
Hong Kong, a former British colony handed to Chinese control in 1997, faces myriad challenges.
The territory has a semi-autonomous status, and its own legal system and economy, but hundreds of thousands of residents have left the city in recent years, driven by a crackdown on political dissent and diminished freedoms after authorities imposed a tough national security law, and by strict COVID-19 entry restrictions in place during much of the pandemic.
Over the last two years, the city's workforce has shrunk by about 140,000 people, Lee said.
“We must be more proactive and aggressive in competing for enterprises and competing for talent,” Lee said during his maiden policy address on Wednesday.
“Apart from actively nurturing and retaining local talent, the government will proactively trawl the world for talent.”
Lee announced a raft of proposals — including tax rebates and relaxed measures for hiring foreigners — to boost the city's competitiveness after its coronavirus restrictions hammered the local economy and drove professionals away.
Foreign new home buyers can receive a partial refund of the stamp duty — a tax levied on property purchases — on their first residential property purchase when they become permanent residents.
The government will streamline processes for companies to employ foreigners in designated professions, set up a new task force to formulate recruitment strategies and provide support for newcomers, he said.
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