The Second Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) High-quality Talent Development Conference jointly organised by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao was held in Hong Kong today (May 8), with an aim to promote the building of a talent hub in the GBA, and strengthen talent development and tripartite co-operation.

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, officiated at the conference and delivered welcome remarks. He said, "Hong Kong is a highly open international city and is also one of the core cities in the GBA. Under the 'one country, two systems' principle, Hong Kong gives full play to the advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, serving as a talent hub and gateway of both the GBA and the country."

     In addition, Mr Chan shared Hong Kong's underlying roles to play. Hong Kong has relaunched the recruitment of talent from around the world with innovative breakthroughs, and consolidated and further developed the quality higher education system to nurture local talent. As an important bridge linking the Mainland and the rest of the world, Hong Kong is steadfastly promoting a "southbound and northbound" two-way flow of talent. Hong Kong is also promoting co-operation on the nurturing, recruitment and exchange of talent in the GBA.

     Mr Chan concluded that he had full confidence in Hong Kong jointly with the sister cities of the GBA going from strength to strength to enhance the GBA's strategic planning on the admission, nurturing and mobility of talent, with a view to expediting the development of a talent hub in the GBA and making new contributions to the country's high-quality development.

     Mr Chan; the Director General of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, Ms Chen Liwen; the Director-General of the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Province, Mr Du Minqi; the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Ms Ao Ieong U, jointly witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on promoting talent services co-operation in the GBA by the Directors of the Human Resources and Social Security Bureaux of the nine municipalities in Guangdong Province; the Director of Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE), Mr Anthony Lau; and the Secretary-General of the Talent Development Committee of the Macao SAR Government, Mr Chao Chong Hang.

     The MOU aimed to implement the national strategic policy of building a talent hub in the GBA through enhancing talent exchanges and co-operation, joint promotions, talent recruitment and campaigns as well as developing a GBA talent services platform together, thereby creating an optimal environment for talent development and bringing mutual benefits by talent co-operation in the GBA.

     Mr Du, Mr Sun and Ms Ao Ieong then delivered their remarks. Mr Sun said that as Hong Kong is facing a manpower shortage in various sectors, it is necessary to implement a more proactive, open and effective talent admission policy to make good use of global innovative resources and bring in talent urgently needed amid the shortage in a targeted approach. This will form an attractive and internationally competitive talent recruitment system, providing solid talent backing for the prosperity of society.

     Since end-2022, the Hong Kong SAR Government has implemented a series of bold and innovative measures, including launching the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) which targets talent with high income and graduates of high academic qualifications, updating the Talent List to reflect the latest shortage of professional and technical talent spanning different fields, and enhancing various prevailing talent admission schemes. The list of universities under the TTPS was also expanded in 2023. HKTE has also been established to provide services for incoming talent to proactively create a community that respects and is determined to attract more talent, Mr Sun added.

     Mr Sun pointed out that the Hong Kong SAR Government will leverage on the advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world with its foothold in the GBA to reinforce Hong Kong's position as an international talent hub. Hong Kong will continue to unite and lead talent with achievements, and bring together talent in the GBA for exchanges, with a view to injecting new impetus into the country's high-quality development.

     Following was a panel discussion jointly hosted by the Head of Talents and Human Resources of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Ms Fanny Wong; the University of Macau Development Foundation Chair Professor of Smart Tourism and Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Economics and Management of the University of Macau, Professor Rob Law; and the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tongdao Liepin Group, Mr Dai Kebin. They delved into ways to converge and nurture a more in-depth and sustainable talent pool to unleash the strengths of human resources in the GBA to develop into a talent hub.

     In the afternoon, one seminar was held by three emerging entrepreneurs, namely the Founder and CEO of MatrixSense Technology Group Limited, Mr Wiva Wei; the Co-Founder of GOGOX, Mr Reeve Kwan; and the Founder and CEO of NakedLab, Ms Joyce Lau, on exploring opportunities in the GBA and expanding their businesses to the world. The other seminar was hosted by the President of the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, Mr Lawrence Hung, and the CEO of TechJobAsia, Mr Terrance Lok, looking into how artificial intelligence changes the workforce development and response strategies of enterprises.

     Concluding the achievements of the two-day Global Talent Summit · Hong Kong, a spokesman for HKTE said that initial statistics showed that some 4 900 attendees in total participated in the International Talent Forum yesterday (May 7) and the Second Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA High-quality Talent Development Conference today, together with over 130 000 views on the live webcast. The CareerConnect Expo held on both days concurrently attracted over 8 600 attendees, which were beyond expectations.

     "The Summit brought together international and Mainland leaders from political, business and academic sectors to participate and share their insights, coupled with the strong support from our partners in the Expo, and concluded smoothly. We are delighted to note that participants bring the necessary information home and find the Summit rewarding and fruitful," the spokesman added.

     HKTE will continue to step up promotion around the world on Hong Kong’s dual role and advantages as an international talent hub and the country's gateway for talent after the Summit, striving to highlight Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world as well as robust talent policies and comprehensive support to international markets, including those in Southeast Asia and Europe to attract more international talent to Hong Kong.

Ends/Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Issued at HKT 18:38

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