Middle East tensions highlight Hong Kong’s stability, opportunities: minister

Conflicts in the Middle East highlight Hong Kong’s attractiveness as a talent hub promising safety and stability, the city’s labour chief has said. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han on Monday said that while Hong Kong already drew global talent because of its status as an international city, its safety and security were “equally important” factors that the escalating tensions in the Middle East had thrown into relief. The joint United States-Israel strikes on Iran entered a third day on Monday. “When the global geopolitical landscape shifts, the attractiveness of a safe and stable environment that is full of opportunities will undoubtedly increase,” he said. Sun was speaking at a press conference for Global Talent Summit Week, which is scheduled to take place at the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre in Wan Chai later this month. The event on March 18 and 19 is expected to attract more than 7,000 in-person attendees and 130,000 online participants, according to Felix Chan Hoi-king, director of organiser Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE). HKTE is a platform under the Labour and Welfare Bureau that facilitates engagement with talented workers and supports their transition into the city. Chan said that HKTE planned to visit 20 locations this year, including in mainland China, Australia, New Zealand, elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region and North America. He said the Middle East was one of HKTE’s target markets and that it would stay in contact with chambers of commerce and universities in the region to determine when the “most appropriate time” to visit would be. Sun noted that visiting the Middle East was not the only way to attract talent and that potential candidates could learn more about Hong Kong through online live streams of various events during Global Talent Summit Week. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will attend the two-day event, with featured speakers including economist and Nobel laureate Christopher Pissarides, executives from the Hong Kong Jockey Club and McKinsey. Sun also revealed that since the government’s push to attract talent with its “full suite” of labour policies in 2022, more than 270,000 non-locals had settled in Hong Kong as of the end of January, with 40 per cent admitted through the Top Talent Pass Scheme. The scheme, which targets high-income earners and graduates from top global universities, was part of government efforts to reverse a brain drain during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was compounded by a wave of emigration after the 2019 anti-government protests. Tony Zhou Xichen, 37, a beneficiary of the scheme, has applied to renew his visa after relocating to Hong Kong two years ago with his wife and child. An account delivery director at DayOne Data Centre, Zhou said he qualified as a category B applicant, meaning he is a graduate from one of 100 top eligible universities worldwide, with at least three years’ work experience. He spent half a year researching Hong Kong and discussing plans with his wife before deciding to make the move. He also took Cantonese lessons after he arrived and can now have conversations in the language with local colleagues. Zhou said he decided to improve his Cantonese after one of his colleagues told him they struggled to communicate in Mandarin. Integrating into Hong Kong society and the workplace was “like dating”, as both sides had to make the effort, he said. “Talent who are new to the city have to proactively do their homework and adapt,” he said.