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Banking & finance
BusinessBanking & Finance

HSBC, Deloitte, Sun Hung Kai Properties among firms offering Greater Bay Area work experience to Hong Kong youth

  • HSBC says it will grant up to US$1.03 million for scholarships for Hong Kong undergraduates willing to work or study in Beijing’s development zone
  • The Greater Bay Area presents huge opportunities for the development of various sectors in Hong Kong: Deloitte

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Shenzhen, a key Greater Bay Area city, is only 15 minutes away from Hong Kong. Photo: Xinhua
Chad BrayandEnoch Yiu

Banks, accounting firms, insurers and property developers in Hong Kong are offering youngsters incentives to work in the Greater Bay Area development zone, industry players said.

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These organisations see the better connectivity between Hong Kong and the mainland cities that are part of the zone as boosting their bottom lines in the future and want to hire more young people to work there.

The Hong Kong government too hopes the city’s status as an international financial hub will help boost growth throughout the Greater Bay Area and provide opportunities for the city’s youth, who are facing a challenging employment environment following months of anti-government protests and the coronavirus pandemic. The city’s unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 25 stood at 18.2 per cent as of July, according to government data.
In her policy address on November 25, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced a new youth employment scheme that encourages companies to recruit local graduates to work in the Greater Bay Area, a hotbed of innovation and technology. The scheme is expected to provide 2,000 placements.

HSBC, the biggest lender in the city, said this month that it would grant up to HK$8 million (US$1.03 million) for scholarships over the next three academic years for up to 100 Hong Kong undergraduates who want to work or study in the region. It is inviting applications from 12 universities and tertiary institutions in Hong Kong.

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“As an economy, the Greater Bay Area is the 12th largest in the world,” HSBC’s Asia-Pacific chief executive Peter Wong Tung-shun said in a December 14 statement. “The demand for talent will only grow exponentially, as businesses become more digital, innovative and seek to incorporate the latest technologies while transitioning to a green economy.”

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