The Chinese special administrative region is intent on reversing its brain drain, initially caused by a crackdown against political dissent, and then, by its isolationist Covid-19 policies. But this year, Hong Kong is back in the game. A Top Talent Pass program, introduced in late 2022, is luring graduates of prestigious universities globally by offering a 24-month visa even if they don’t have job offers in hand. In the first nine months, the city gave out 100,000 work permits, nearly 2 1/2 times as many as it did last year.
A funding squeeze and uncertain growth prospects are making Singapore startups less than gung-ho about adding to the city’s 18,000-strong fintech workforce. However, it may not be a bad time to look for jobs in the Asian financial centre. Rivals like Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi are hungry for qualified professionals. And that’s making Singapore's immigration hurdles less onerous than before.
In a 2021 Accenture survey, nearly two out of three firms blamed their talent gap on not being able to get work permits for foreigners. Nowadays, only 37% cite difficulty in securing employment passes as a hiring challenge. For this dramatic change, the employers and employees should thank Hong Kong.
