Hong Kong government seeks blockchain talent

The government of Hong Kong is seeking blockchain talent in its efforts to support the economic development of the country.

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Tuesday issued a “Talent List” which aims to “attract quality people from around the world in a more effective and focused manner to support Hong Kong's development as a high value-added and diversified economy.”

"The promulgation of the Talent List is one of our major initiatives to enhance our competitive advantages in attracting international talents, creating cluster effects, stimulating the development of local talents and propelling Hong Kong forward,” Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Chief Secretary for Administration and Chairman of the Human Resources Planning Commission, said.

The list particularly outlines 11 professions – from actuaries, to fintech, to marine insurance, to dispute resolution professional, and more.

One of the areas where the government is seeking professionals is “Innovation and technology” in fields relating to (but not limited to) “(i) pharmaceutical and life science/biotechnology; (ii) data engineering (e.g. data mining/data analytics), artificial intelligence, robotics, distributed ledger technologies, biometric technologies and industrial/chemical engineering, etc.; and (iii) materials science/nanotechnology.”

In a bid to attract global talent, the government said it will provide immigration facilitation to eligible persons. Successful applicants under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS), which as an annual quote of 1,000, would not be required to secure an offer of local employment for settlement in Hong Kong.

Countries all around the globe are increasingly making efforts to position themselves as a blockchain and FinTech hub. Regulatory authorities in Hong Kong have also been taking measures to adopt the emerging technology.

Last month, reports suggested that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) was soon going to launch a blockchain-based trade finance platform. It had previously collaborated with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on a blockchain-based trade finance initiative.

In February 2017, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission joined the blockchain consortium led by enterprise software firm R3.