HK wants more Malaysian talent as it seeks to diversify workforce

City eyes links with S-E Asia and also aims to hire finance, tech workers from Europe

- Magdalene Fung

The Hong Kong government plans to focus on recruiting talent from South-east Asia and Europe to supplement and diversify the city’s imported labour force.

Malaysia will be a key potential source of talent, given that many Malaysians are multilingual, including in Cantonese, Hong Kong’s local language, according to the city’s labour minister.

“Malaysians are fluent in English, and many also speak fluent Cantonese and Mandarin,” Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun told local media on June 18.

Mr Sun said such Malaysian talents would find it easier to integrate into the local community, and could help Hong Kong forge connections with the South-east 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 aimed to hire financial and technology talent from Europe.

Mainland Chinese people have made up more than 90 per cent of about 59,000 non-local professionals brought to the city under a Top Talent Pass Scheme since December 2022. The government did not provide a breakdown of the number of visas granted to Malaysians.

The scheme offers a two-year visa­ to applicants who earned at least HK$2.5 million (S$434,000) in the past year, or graduates from nearly 200 of the world’s top universities.

The Malaysian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macau said the scheme had already benefited some Malaysian professionals with its simplified visa procedures.