Fung was speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday to announce the release of the “Advancing Talent Development in Financial Services” report by the HKIMR, which is backed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and other regulators.

Hong Kong’s appeal for expatriates had greatly diminished during the pandemic, mainly because of some of the world’s most stringent travel restrictions. More than 113,000 residents left Hong Kong in the 12 months to June 2022, according to government data.

The HKIMR’s report was based on a survey of more than 1,200 professionals, which analysed 1.6 million LinkedIn profiles across major international financial centres such as Hong Kong, New York, London, Singapore, Zurich and Tokyo.

The study corroborated human resources leaders’ views about Hong Kong being attractive to international talent and providing decent career growth opportunities, particularly in fintech, ESG (environmental, social and governance), market connectivity and innovation.

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The study noted that the fastest-growing skill sets for Hong Kong finance professionals to acquire are customer experience, software engineering, machine learning, computer programming and financial advisory.

From the perspective of global professionals, compensation, work-life balance, reputation, corporate culture and career development were the key factors for choosing to work in the city.

“Career growth is really the main driver to attract talent because they care about their long-term prospects,” Fung said. “Wherever there are growth opportunities, that is where they will go.”

As such, Hong Kong will need to continue to develop various fintech ecosystems, promote market development and leverage the opportunities arising from the Greater Bay Area to continue attracting highly trained people, the report said.

The Greater Bay Area is Beijing’s grand plan to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities into an economic powerhouse.

“In the Greater Bay Area, there are a lot of very interesting developments on the fintech side and financial innovation. A lot of fintech firms are hiring graduates,” Fung said.

Fung said the government has introduced the right policies in terms of training and talent admission schemes to give several groups work visas, allowing Hong Kong to compete with cities like Singapore, which have similar schemes.

While most of the people attracted by these admission schemes are mainlanders, the schemes are also attractive to international talent, Fung said. Simultaneously, the Hong Kong government and regulators have actively introduced schemes to train locals, he added.

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“Of the top 100 banks, 70 have operations in Hong Kong, and of the top 100 fund companies, 80 have offices in Hong Kong,” Fung said. “When we have these international firms operating here, it is natural to have international talent come and work here.”

The report also noted challenges expatriates face in Hong Kong, such as high cost of living, housing and difficulties in getting international school places. On the other hand, the city has its advantages, such as a sound legal system, good infrastructure, ideal location and global connectivity.

“Human resources leaders view these advantages as significant, which has made Hong Kong an attractive destination for international talent and sustain its standing as an international financial centre,” said Giorgio Valente, head of the HKIMR.