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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, at the dinner reception of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong on "Opening our Doors to Pool Talent and Wealth" today (May 29):
Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be invited by the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong to the dinner reception this evening. The presence of so many outstanding entrepreneurs here resonates with the keynote which I am going to share with you - opening our doors to pool talent and wealth.
Over the years, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong has been at the helm of the local manufacturing sector, helping the manufacturing industry overcome difficulties and seize opportunities for scaling new heights. The association has made significant contribution to the economic prosperity of Hong Kong. In the 1970s and 1980s, local manufacturers, with foresight and agility, took advantage of the economic reform and opening up of the Mainland by moving their production lines northward, and the "Front Shop and Back Plant" model they adopted has successfully forged the transformation of Hong Kong into a service economy. Later, with China's accession to the WTO and the implementation of CEPA, our businessmen take to brand building, and venture into the world market.
I believe that all of you have first-hand experience of the unprecedented changes in the business environment of the manufacturing industry in recent years. The national policy on macroeconomic adjustment, the appreciation of Renminbi, the latest Mainland regulations on labour and environmental protection, etc. have brought you many challenges. As pointed out in the "Survey on CMA Members' Views on the Business Environment in the PRD" conducted by the Association a month ago, manufacturers are trying to cope with these challenges through strategies such as enhanced automation, enhanced value-add of products and enhanced positioning in the value chain. Hong Kong has played the important role of financing, brand building and export trading. We need talent with international outlook, professional knowledge and managerial skills to enable Hong Kong's economy to move towards high value-add and become more competitive in the international market.
A growing pool of talent is particularly important to the long-term development of Hong Kong. In a knowledge-based economy, a pool of talent can attract capital and business from foreign enterprises, raise the productivity of local sectors, help develop diversified industries, and create job opportunities. The Government will continue to make substantial investment in education, training and retraining. Nevertheless, like London, New York and other cosmopolitan cities in the world, Hong Kong cannot simply focus on the training of local talent. We must attract highly skilled and highly qualified non-local talent to come to Hong Kong.
Many factors affect the attractiveness of Hong Kong to talent. These include our tax regime, the living environment, as well as business and job opportunities, amongst others. Various policy bureaus and departments of the Government have been considering and engaging in activities under their purview in order to attract and retain talent. As far as the Security Bureau and the Immigration Department are concerned, we have all along adopted a liberal and open immigration policy and provided various arrangements to facilitate entry of talent to cater for Hong Kong's need.
Currently, non-local talent may come to Hong Kong via three different arrangements, namely entry for employment as professionals; the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS); and entry for studies in post-secondary institutions. These arrangements complement and reinforce each other. Apart from meeting the market demand for talent in medium and short terms, these arrangements also satisfy the strategic need of Hong Kong's long-term economic development.
Entry for Employment as Professionals
Since the reunification, more than 210,000 non-local talent have come to Hong Kong through entry for employment as professionals. The arrangement features a market-driven, employment-based and non-sector specific approach. Non-local talent can apply for entry if they have secured an offer of employment from a local employer. No quota is imposed. The arrangement gives the flexibility for employers to recruit talent in different fields having regard to the changing demand of the relevant sectors and the market. This is particularly important as Hong Kong is an open economy susceptible to the rapidly changing external economic environment.
Applications for entry for employment as professionals are subject to two key requirements. First, the non-local talent has secured a job that cannot be readily taken up by the local workforce. Secondly, the remuneration package is commensurate with the prevailing market rate. These requirements aim to protect the job opportunities and remuneration for the local workforce.
Quality Migrant Admission Scheme
To meet the needs of Hong Kong's economic development and to enhance our international competitiveness, the Government launched the QMAS in June, 2006. The scheme differs from the entry for employment arrangement I just mentioned, in that applicants under the scheme are not required to secure an offer of employment before they can be admitted. They are only required to provide certain basic information such as academic attainment and work experience, plus a brief plan on what they intend to do after entry into Hong Kong. Apart from the "General Point Test", applicants with distinguished achievements in a particular area, such as Olympic medallists, can choose to be assessed under the "Achievement-based Points Test".
To cast our net wider for quality migrants, the Government has reviewed the QMAS, and relaxed several eligibility criteria. Under the revised scheme that took effect in January this year, the age limit was lifted so that potential candidates aged 51 or above are now eligible to apply. We have also adjusted the assessment scheme so that younger degree holders with less, or even no, working experience may meet the passing mark for further assessment. Furthermore, marks will be accorded to applicants who are proficient in a foreign language in addition to Chinese or English.
Since the launch of the scheme, nearly 500 applicants had been allocated quotas to come to Hong Kong. They are from a wide array of professions, including commerce and industry, finance, accounting, legal, logistics, IT, academic and education, arts and culture, engineering and architecture, performing arts, media and sports, etc.
Studying in Hong Kong
To complement the objective of developing Hong Kong into a regional education hub and thus attracting promising non-local students to pursue their studies and develop their career in Hong Kong after graduation, starting from the 2008-09 academic year, non-local students freshly graduated from full-time recognised programmes at degree level or above in Hong Kong are allowed to stay for one year, during which they are free to take up or change employment. For non-local graduates who have obtained a degree or higher qualification in a full-time and recognised programme, they can apply for returning to work in Hong Kong so long as they are offered a job commonly taken up by degree holders with a remuneration package in line with market rate. These measures are among the most liberal in the developed economies of the world.
Continued Improvement
The world's economy is moving to knowledge-based and Hong Kong is no exception. With services as our pillar industry, it is obviously important that we should enhance our human capital to remain competitive on the global stage. We understand that places around the world are competing keenly to attract and retain talent, and that there is no room for complacency. We will continue to spare no efforts to further enhance the talent admission arrangements and introduce new measures as and when appropriate.
The Immigration Department has pledged to finalise 90% of the relevant applications within four weeks. Last year, 95% of the applications met this target. We have recently consolidated the application and processing procedures of the various admission arrangements. New application forms and streamlined procedures have been adopted by the Immigration Department starting from this month. Now, talent from both the Mainland and overseas use the same newly simplified form to apply to work in Hong Kong. The new form also incorporates the application for entry of accompanying dependants so that non-local talent and their dependants are no longer required to submit separate applications. Furthermore, if a company had been approved for employment of non-local talent in the past 18 months immediately before the submission of application, it will be exempted from submission of supporting documents such as the business registration certificate, financial statement and company background information, etc. The Immigration Department will continue to explore ways to streamline and expedite the application and processing procedures so as to offer the greatest convenience to the prospective entrants and their employers.
Last month, the Commission on Strategic Development, chaired by the Chief Executive, discussed a report prepared by its Task Group on Attracting Talent. Among other things, the report recommends that employers should be allowed to recruit upper level executives and professionals from all over the world without going through certain existing requirements concerning the entry of professionals for employment. For example, employers should no longer be required to prove that the relevant job could not be readily taken up by local talent before they are allowed to admit non-local talent. In the light of the competition for talent among economies, the Government agrees that Hong Kong needs to adopt a more proactive policy in admission of talent. We will examine the feasibility of the recommendation as well as the possible impacts on various fronts such as the local workforce.
While we seek to improve the entry arrangements on the one hand, we will also make effort on the other to promote our arrangements in the Mainland and other places. We will make use of the media and various promotional activities, as well as through our overseas Economic and Trade Offices, to raise people's awareness of the various admission arrangements. We will also step up publicity of the arrangements through the network of Hong Kong people living on the Mainland and that of overseas Chinese.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, economies around the world are competing keenly for talent. With the accelerated pace of globalisation and the Mainland's rapid integration with the world, Hong Kong must grasp the invaluable opportunities arising to reinforce our position as Asia's world city. Attracting top talent from around the world is imperative to maintaining our competitiveness. On immigration policies and arrangements, the Security Bureau and the Immigration Department will continue to introduce more facilitating measures for non-local talent. We welcome views from all sectors to assist us to achieve our objective of facilitating entry of talent. Many of you here are employers. You are playing a crucial role in attracting non-local talent. I hope I can continue to benefit from your valuable opinions on Hong Kong's talent admission arrangements through different channels.
Thank you again for the invitation this evening.
May I take the opportunity to wish the association every success in the days to come.
Ends/Thursday, May 29, 2008
Issued at HKT 20:52
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