Hong Kong has risen to ninth in an annual talent ranking, with the government crediting achievements in education and talent admission schemes for the move up the table. The International Institute for Management Development unveiled its latest World Talent Ranking on Thursday, after researchers assessed data from 67 economies. Researchers ranked the economies based on three talent competitiveness factors: readiness, investment and development, and appeal. Hong Kong's ranking rose to ninth place from 16th last year, putting the SAR back in the top 10 for the first time since 2016. The SAR improved across all three factors with readiness jumping from sixth place to fourth, investment and development from 15th to 13th, and appeal from 32nd to 28th. Hong Kong topped the ranking in the percentage of science graduates. The SAR was also among the top five in availability of finance skills, effectiveness of management education and remuneration of management. A government spokesperson said Hong Kong has sound education infrastructure, renowned universities and outstanding research talent. "The HKSAR Government announced in the 2022 Policy Address an array of admission measures to entice global talent to come to Hong Kong. These include the launch of the Top Talent Pass Scheme, which targets high-income talent and graduates from the world's top universities, as well as enhancement of various talent admission schemes to trawl for outside quality talent to enrich the local talent pool," the spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesman also said that over 360,000 applications were received under various talent admission schemes as of the end of August this year, with nearly 230,000 applications approved. He added that over 150,000 applicants arrived during the same period. "The arrivals of outside quality talent and their family members boost Hong Kong's labour force and inject new momentum into our local economy," he said. "The HKSAR Government established the Hong Kong Talent Engage in end-October 2023 to provide one-stop support services to incoming talent to enable their settlement in Hong Kong." Switzerland kept the top spot on the table, while Singapore rose to second from eighth last year and Luxembourg fell one place to come in third.
