Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced in last year's "Policy Address" that the annual quota for the "Quality Talent Admission Scheme" would be doubled to 4,000 to attract talent to work in Hong Kong. On January 19, Secretary for Security Chris Tang responded in writing to Legislative Council members' questions, stating that the scheme has attracted a total of 9,131 people in its 16 years of implementation, with 88% coming from the mainland, a slight increase of 1 percentage point from last year.

The quota for the Quality Talent Admission Scheme has been increased for two consecutive years. Looking back at recent data, which industries have been mainly attracting talent after the quota increase? How many people enter through this scheme each year?

The Quality Talent Admission Scheme was launched in June 2006, and the government published its first "Talent List" in 2018, listing the talents most needed in Hong Kong. In 2020, the quota was increased from 1,000 to 2,000; in 2021, it was further increased to 4,000. In the same year, 2,004 people successfully came to Hong Kong through this scheme, bringing the total to over 9,000.

In terms of industry comparison, the "Financial and Accounting Services" and "Information Technology and Telecommunications" sectors have historically attracted the most professionals, with 2,264 and 2,188 people respectively, accounting for a total of 48.5%.

In recent years, after the quota increase, the talent introduced mainly works in the finance and information technology sectors, with a total increase of nearly 600 people in both sectors from 2020 to 2021. In terms of growth rate, the "Construction, Surveying, Engineering and Building" sector ranked third with a higher increase, rising from 53 people in 2019 to 169 last year, more than doubling.

Among the over 9,000 applicants, 8,039 came from the mainland, accounting for 88% of the total. The next largest groups are from the United States, Australia, Canada, and other places, totaling about 150 to 190 people, accounting for 5%.

Among the mainland professionals who came to Hong Kong through the Quality Talent Admission Scheme, 40% arrived after the quota increase in the past two years, with 1,624 and 1,860 people in 2020 and 2021 respectively, more than doubling from 803 in 2019.

In addition to the Quality Talent Admission Scheme, the government currently has other immigration programs to attract mainland talent to Hong Kong. The "Talent Admission Scheme for Mainland Talent" issued about 5,300 approvals in the first seven months of last year, while the "Technology Talent Admission Scheme," which specifically attracts overseas and mainland technology talent, also admitted 36 people in the same period last year.