A return of fintech talent to Hong Kong may be on the cards as the government offers incentives to staunch the steady flow of residents from the city. The exodus over the past 18 months has been widely attributed to harsh restrictions relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed almost 10,000 lives in the city, conferring it with the highest rate of death from the virus globally.
Over the past month, reports from south-east Asia have suggested the Hong Kong government is now taking active steps to encourage skilled workers to move to the city, in the form of financial incentives and a relaxation of immigration rules. Financial services and treasury minister Christopher Hui Ching-yu has said the planned initiatives include up to HK$10m ($1.3m) in cash subsidies for select fintech operations, and that the government plans to ease immigration rules for qualified individuals.
