In addition to a record drop in Hong Kong’s overall population – nearly 90,000 residents left in the year after the national security law was imposed – the city is also facing challenges with luring foreign talent.
«Hong Kong has always faced a problem of talent shortage in the financial industry, but the pandemic has worsened the situation,» said Standard Chartered Hong Kong CEO and chair of the Hong Kong Association of Banks Mary Huen.
«It is hard to recruit new talent to come, while international banks have also found it difficult to relocate their existing staff from other areas to Hong Kong.»
Final Straw?
Hong Kong faces an uphill battle to perform a balancing act between policy alignment with Beijing, containment of the outbreak and maintenance of its business hub status.
While few doubt the long-term outlook for market opportunities in Hong Kong and mainland China, the city could risk opening the floodgates for talent outflow or hub relocations, resulting in continued business with the second-largest economy but with hiring and decision-making done from another base.
«Given the additional impact of the pandemic, financial firms indicated that talent availability is a challenge that needs to be urgently addressed for Hong Kong to continue to enjoy its position as a world-class international financial center,» said a report by Oxford Metrica, commissioned by a Hong Kong government body.
«The challenge will be to find ways to ensure that Hong Kong continues to be a popular posting for expatriates while at the same time attracting the best and brightest young graduates locally to join the financial services.»
- << Back
- Page 2 of 2
