Hong Kong Unveils List of Professionals It Wants to Lure

31 Aug 2018, 04:12 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- If you’re a waste treatment specialist, actuary or naval architect, Hong Kong wants you.

The government this week unveiled a talent list to attract skilled workers in 11 professions that the city is seen as needing most. Experts in asset management, fintech and data science are also on the list. People in those fields will get prioritized immigration treatment even if they haven’t secured a job.

Qualifying applicants will score a maximum of 30 bonus points under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme’s general points test for working in one of the 11 stated professions in the talent list. Other factors such as age, education, working experience and language proficiency will also be counted. The minimum passing mark is 80 points.

The initiative comes as the Asian financial hub seeks to bolster its competitiveness in finance and catch up on technology with the neighboring mainland hub of Shenzhen. Hong Kong is also looking to enhance its position as an international maritime hub despite intense competition from other cities in the region.

If you don’t qualify for any of those 11 fields on the talent list, however, fear not: another option to get in under the QMAS is via the achievement-based points test, with stated examples including winning Olympic medals or a Nobel prize.

Here’s the full list:

Waste treatment specialists
Asset management professionals
Marine insurance professionals
Actuaries
Fintech professionals
Data scientists and cyber security specialists
Innovation and technology experts
Naval architects
Marine engineers and superintendents of ships
Creative industries professionals
Dispute resolution professionals and transactional lawyers

To contact the reporters on this story: Eric Lam in Hong Kong at elam87@bloomberg.net;Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Fion Li, Jeffrey Black