A summit will be hosted in mid-March to cement Hong Kong’s place in the global talent race, government officials said on Monday, adding that the city’s previous push to attract professionals saw more than 270,000 settling in the city as of the end of January.
Nobel Prize winning economist Christopher Pissarides, and leaders from government, business and academia, are set to share their insights on future talent trends throughout the Global Talent Summit Week from March 17 to 29, which is predicted will attract around 140,000 participants.
At a news conference, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said as this year marks the first year of the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is leading government bureaus and departments to align with the nation’s development framework.
The GTS Week is aimed at telling the world that Hong Kong can serve as a platform for global talent to showcase their skills, Sun said.
Hong Kong’s safe environment and diversity serve as strong attractions for global talent, the labor chief said, with over 270,000 professionals enticed to move to the city by a range of policies. About 100,000 of them were beneficiaries of the Top Talent Pass Scheme – a policy introduced in 2022 to attract high-earning people and graduates of top-notch universities, Sun added.
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Felix Chan Hoi-king, director of Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) – a one-stop platform designed to help talented people settle in Hong Kong - said the International Talent Forum and the CareerConnect Expo, both to be held on March 18 and 19, will bring together industry leaders to share their insights through keynote speeches and themed discussions.
Nobel Prize winner, economist Christopher Pissarides, will join Joe Ngai, chairman of McKinsey and Company’s Greater China offices, Gong Qihuang, president of Peking University, and other guests during the two-day forum, which Chan estimated will attract over 7,000 on-site participants and 130,000 online attendees.
Nine satellite events will address themes such as career expositions, regional conferences and using human resources for talent development.
Chan said, under an annual plan, HKTE representatives will make around 20 overseas trips to attract international talent from regions such as the Chinese mainland, Asia Pacific and North America.
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Geopolitical instability has made Hong Kong a more attractive destination for global talent, said Sun, and events such as GTS Week are a valuable means for showcasing what the city has to offer through live online broadcasts.
Tony Zhou, account delivery director at DayOne Data Centre, relocated from Shanghai to Hong Kong with his family under the Top Talent Pass Scheme two years ago. He said that the city not only provides him with a good salary but also offers a multi-cultural environment and high quality education for his child.
Zhou said it is important for arriving professionals to actively integrate into Hong Kong society, for example by learning to speak Cantonese, which he has become fluent in since arriving in the city through HKTE’s language classes and help from colleagues.
Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com
