THE Hong Kong government is shifting its focus to recruiting talent from Southeast Asia and Europe to diversify and enhance its imported labour force, with Malaysia as a key source.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun highlighted Malaysia's potential for talent recruitment, primarily due to the multilingual capabilities of its people, including proficiency in Cantonese, which is the local language of Hong Kong.
"Malaysians are fluent in English, and many can speak fluent Cantonese and Mandarin," he said.
Sun noted that Malaysian professionals would find it easier to integrate into Hong Kong's community and could help strengthen connections with the Southeast Asian market.
"There is a good talent pool in Malaysia, and I think it's worthwhile for us to give it a try," he said, adding that the government also aims to attract financial and technology professionals from Europe.
Since December 2022, mainland Chinese nationals have comprised over 90 per cent of the approximately 59,000 non-local professionals admitted under the Top Talent Pass Scheme. The government has not disclosed how many Malaysians have been granted visas.
The Top Talent Pass Scheme offers a two-year visa to applicants who have earned at least HK$2.5 million (RM1.6 million) in the past year or are graduates from nearly 200 of the world's top universities.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macau told The Straits Times that the scheme has already benefited some Malaysian professionals with its streamlined visa procedures.
"The government's focus on talent recruitment in Malaysia reflects its commitment to fostering a diversified and skilled workforce."
The chamber added that nurturing greater cultural sensitivity and ensuring more access to halal goods would attract more Malaysian talents, including Muslims, to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has been intensifying efforts to recruit imported workers to address significant labor shortages across various sectors, including higher-skilled professions, construction, transport, and health.
Between 2019 and 2022, Hong Kong lost over 250,000 members of its 3.99 million-strong workforce. This exodus was driven by the 2019 mass anti-government protests, the imposition of a national security law in 2020, and strict Covid-19 restrictions that largely isolated the city from the world.