Hong Kong’s open door: How the city is winning the global race for top talent

Swiss-born chef Gregoire Michaud is no stranger to taking the plunge.

The 50-year-old is behind Bakehouse, a bakery chain known for its sourdough egg tart – a European spin on Hong Kong’s famed pastry.

Curiosity and hard work brought him to the city 27 years ago and Michaud now calls Hong Kong home.

“Hong Kong sounded fantastic from its unique situation and multiculturalism - I thought this could be a great platform to meet people from all walks of life,” he says.

Founded in 2013 and expanded into retail in 2018, Bakehouse now has eight outlets across Hong Kong, with a team of about 450.

Setting up the business in Hong Kong was a very convenient and smooth process, notes Michaud. “Hong Kong allows companies to be set up fast, in a few days online, at low cost and with no minimum capital. Legal and banking support is well developed, and the profit tax rate at 8.25 per cent on the first HK$2 million and 16.5 per cent thereafter is easy to work with.”

By being in Hong Kong, he can access the Asian and mainland markets readily and is now looking at expanding to the Greater Bay Area.

Like him, Manon Plain, originally from France, has been in Hong Kong for three years.

The 32-year-old Asia-Pacific senior account manager for global management and digital consulting firm Wavestone, relocated to Hong Kong in 2023 to lead the company’s expansion in the region.

Says Plain: “From the outset, I was working simultaneously with Western multinationals and Asian market leaders, while being directly connected to the Greater Bay Area and its 80 million people, a scale and concentration few hubs can match.”

Plain notes that Hong Kong is the gateway to opportunities in the information and technology sector, especially in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI).

“The city is open to innovation and offers strong support through a range of schemes including government funding and initiatives that can help businesses grow,” she says, adding that the city’s global connectivity offers vast opportunities for professionals.

Support for incoming talent

Hong Kong has long been an international centre for finance and professional services but it is now diversifying its economy.

This creates a need to enrich the local talent pool in specialised fields such as innovation, cybersecurity, and AI platform engineering, building upon the city’s robust foundations in finance and legal services.

Ms Plain says: “If your ambition is to shape the future of data, technology or cybersecurity, Hong Kong gives you the best environment to accelerate faster.”

So far, Hong Kong’s accelerated efforts to draw top talent to its market have paid off.

The city jumped to fourth from ninth place globally and nabbed the pole position in Asia in the IMD World Talent Ranking 2025.

More than 270,000 professionals have relocated to the city in recent years with the help of Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE), a dedicated office set up by the government in late 2023 to spearhead talent recruitment and retention.

Felix Chan, director of HKTE, says his team has launched extensive promotional activities in 2026, including visits to the Netherlands in April, to help overseas professionals learn more about working and living in Hong Kong.

“I am excited about the impact this trip can make on aspiring international talent in the Netherlands, and the traction we can get in return,” he says.

Chan adds that HKTE has conducted over 230 outreach promotional activities in the mainland and abroad in just two years since its establishment.

That said, HKTE’s services cover much more than this. It concurrently provides one-stop support for incoming talents, including the provision of 5,000 quality job opportunities daily, processing talent enquiries within 48 hours, and connecting with more than 100 designated partners to offer support.

For those who are in-between roles, HKTE and its partners organise online and physical career fairs to connect job-seeking talent directly with employers, and help them to better understand the recruitment needs of different industries.

As for those looking to launch a venture, HKTE arranges entrepreneurship-themed seminars to help them access essential start-up information as they build their professional networks, including opportunities to connect with industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs.

Through HKTE and its partners, individual talent can better integrate into the local community and find know-hows on job opportunities, the nuts and bolts of starting a business, as well as quick guide to the education system for their accompanying children.

They can also join the volunteering programmes arranged by HKTE to expand their social circles and integrate with the locals.

“HKTE’s comprehensive support services are meant to enable the professionals and their families to establish a firm footing in the city,” says Chan.

He adds: “Hong Kong welcomes high-calibre talents who bring with them investments, and research and development activities. The establishment of companies by some of them will create new jobs and invigorate the market, in turn providing Hong Kong with more room to upskill and advance careers.”

Says Michaud: “To a guy coming from the peaceful Swiss mountains, Hong Kong really showcases its unique aesthetics, blended with vibrant modern energy. In time, my mind started to process how good and efficient the city really is – the convenience level is unlike any other large city in the world – from transport, to shopping, deliveries, banking, taxes, and international and regional travel.”

In a world of great uncertainty, Hong Kong’s integration with the mainland’s development strategies will offer unparalleled opportunities and certainty for global talent seeking growth in Asian markets. The city’s position as a global financial hub also creates an environment that continues to attract top international professionals.

Chan states: “Under the principle of ‘one country, two systems’, Hong Kong enjoys legal, financial and education systems that are fully aligned with international standards. Building on these unique advantages, we are confident that Hong Kong will continue to help international talents set a stage to work, live, and thrive.”

Learn more about talent relocation to Hong Kong at www.hkengage.gov.hk