'Imported talent injects HK$34bn into economy'

Labour minister Chris Sun on Wednesday said professionals who came to Hong Kong through a new admission scheme have created billions of dollars of economic output. Speaking on the second day of a talent summit in Wan Chai, Sun said the government recently conducted a study to see how they are doing in Hong Kong. "We estimate that the more than 30,000 people who had arrived here through the Top Talent Pass Scheme in 2023 can bring in about HK$34 billion of direct economic contribution to Hong Kong a year," he said. "This means they help boost our GDP by around 1.2 percent a year." The official said many of these professionals moved to the SAR with their young families - with two-thirds of them being under 40 - and helped rejuvenate the city’s ageing society. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said a memorandum of understanding newly signed between the 11 cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) would help expats settle in the GBA.