Chief Executive John Lee

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Hong Kong for Global Talent Summit Week, the second edition.

This year, we welcome some 7,000 of you from around the world. You are here because Hong Kong is fast rising as an international talent hub. This week, you will see exactly why.

Global Talent Summit Week features the International Talent Forum and the CareerConnect Expo. The forum, under the theme “Connecting Global Minds”, puts a welcome spotlight on education, technology and talent, and their essential integration.

CareerConnect Expo offers five thematic zones and participation from about 70 companies, education and technology institutions and government departments. Companies engage directly with professionals seeking fresh opportunities and partnerships, here in Hong Kong and in the Greater Bay Area.

New this year are nine satellite events, focused on talent and human resources. They include conferences, recruitment fairs and corporate award ceremonies.

The collective result, I am confident, will be a week, and more, of high-powered insight and intelligence covering careers, talent development and wide-ranging possibilities.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are in a time of profound global transformation, with artificial intelligence, digital innovation and accelerated technological advancements reshaping industries and redefining skills. Equally unsettling is the impact of demographic change on global talent.

Finding and retaining talent have become central to economic strategy and public policy worldwide. Governments and companies alike recognise that competitiveness no longer depends solely on capital or physical infrastructure, but above all, on people, their knowledge, creativity and adaptability.

Hong Kong, I am here to tell you, approaches this global challenge with clarity, commitment and determination.

Thanks to the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong benefits from the strong support of our country, China, while maintaining extensive international connectivity.

This unique advantage allows us to remain a highly open, globally engaged economy, firmly anchored within the high-quality development of our country.

We serve as a "super connector” and “super value-adder”, connecting the Chinese Mainland and global markets, enabling the free flow of capital, information, technology and people. International companies and investors access opportunities in our country through Hong Kong, while Chinese Mainland enterprises engage confidently with the world here.

And guided by the national strategy, we are strengthening our roles and focus, enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre and an international aviation hub, and, among others, building an international hub for high-calibre talent. These policy priorities offer high-quality and high-value opportunities for global talent across a wide range of disciplines.

Our strategy is comprehensive and forward-looking. We integrate talent development with economic transformation, technological advancement and regional co-operation.

We are expanding partnerships among universities, research institutions and industries to accelerate innovation, research commercialisation and entrepreneurship.

Hong Kong is the only city in the world with five universities ranked among the global top 100. (I) remind you, Hong Kong is a small city: we only have 1,100 square kilometres. Building on this international recognition, we are increasing pathways for graduates and researchers to translate knowledge into practical solutions and enterprises.

We are fast-tracking development of the Northern Metropolis - an area bordering Shenzhen and covering one third of Hong Kong’s landmass - as an international innovation and technology centre.

We are developing co-operation within the Greater Bay Area, which is an area with a combined population of over 87 million and a strong manufacturing and innovation base across 11 cities. The Greater Bay Area offers immense opportunities for cross-boundary collaboration and talent mobility.

No less important, Hong Kong remains firmly committed to openness and internationalisation. Our rule of law, independent judiciary and dependable institutions provide stability and confidence.

Our simple and competitive tax regime, and open and internationalised business environment, attract companies and investors from around the world.

Quality of life is another Hong Kong strength. We offer world-class public services and transport, together with a bountiful, East-meets-West cultural scene.

Our efforts, I am pleased to say, have been widely recognised. In the International Institute for Management Development’s World Talent Ranking 2025, Hong Kong rose to fourth, globally, from ninth position the year before, while ranking first in Asia.

This achievement reflects the strength of our education system, the openness of our economy and the vitality of our institutions. It reflects a telling vote of confidence from global talent.

As of the end of February, we have approved over 410,000 applications under our various talent admission schemes. And more than 270,000 professionals have arrived in Hong Kong.

Building a global talent hub requires constant renewal, active engagement and sustained collaboration. Global Talent Summit Week fully embodies this commitment, turning the entire week into a dynamic exchange of ideas and opportunities.

In connecting policymakers, industry leaders, scholars and professionals, it creates networks and partnerships that will endure long beyond this week.

But even as global competition for talent intensifies, our objective should not be to outcompete one another. Rather, our goal must be to expand opportunities through co-operation and shared progress.

Hong Kong has long embodied that ideal. And we will continue to uphold openness, deepen international engagement and align closely with our national development strategies.

We will further refine our policies in education, innovation and infrastructure, ensuring that our city remains a fertile ground for ideas and enterprises, (so) that talent from around the world feels welcomed, valued and supported here.

Above all, we will continue to place people at the centre of our vision for the future. Economic indicators and technological achievements are important, but human development remains our ultimate goal.

When individuals are free to realise their potential, innovation flourishes, economies develop and advance and societies thrive.

Ladies and gentlemen, Global Talent Summit Week reflects our shared belief that talent transcends borders and connects the world.

I wish you all a productive and inspiring summit week. And find time to enjoy the art, culture and entertainment that Hong Kong, Asia’s world city, has long been celebrated for.

Chief Executive John Lee gave these remarks at the Global Talent Summit Week on March 18.