The recently launched Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme, or GBAYES, provides support and subsidies for Hong Kong companies to hire local young people to work in the Mainland GBA cities. At a Chamber webinar on 4 May, four experts from different fields shared what Hong Kong companies should pay attention to when sending young employees to work in the GBA.

Sam Sze, M&A Deals Advisory Greater Bay Area Leader, PwC Mainland China and Hong Kong, introduced GBAYES, and advised companies and employees alike to study the policies affecting tax, MPF, and social security on the Mainland.

Betty Lam, Head of Human Resources in Hong Kong at HSBC, and Cynthia Lam, Head of Human Resources - China, CLP Holdings, shared their experiences of hiring and dispatching Hong Kong youths to the GBA, and gave some examples of the process for members' reference.

An expert from the technology industry, Donald Chan, Chief Operating Officer, Cherrypicks Ltd, noted that higher exposure or visibility would help SMEs to attract more young talent to work in the region.

Three speakers discussed the business environment and attractions of Dongguan at a Chamber webinar on 23 April. Loretta Fong, Assurance Partner, PwC Hong Kong; Emil Yu, General Manager, Keystone Electric Wire & Cable; and Rex Wong, Chief Executive, Kum Shing Holdings; gave an overview of the Greater Bay Area city and discussed the investment opportunities.

Dongguan enjoys a lower living cost compared with other GBA cities, and has a rapidly improving transportation network and infrastructure. These factors, combined with supportive government policies to encourage investment, are providing huge opportunities for Hong Kong businesses.

The Wealth Management Connect (WMC) scheme, announced in June last year, will enable residents in Hong Kong, Macao and the nine Greater Bay Area cities in Guangdong Province to invest in wealth management products across the whole GBA. Although details for the WMC have yet to be fleshed out, a joint Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2021 serves as a significant milestone in laying out a road map for the scheme’s design and implementation.

At a Chamber webinar on 23 April, Donald Chen, Senior Advisor (External) at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, explained that the scheme will allow global financial institutions to capitalize on GBA opportunities without having to establish a presence in the Mainland or obtain a license, through partnering with an onshore bank.

In the panel discussion that followed, Greg Hingston, Regional Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, Asia Pacific at HSBC; Angel Ng, CEO at Citi Hong Kong and Macao, and Sally Wong, CEO at the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association, discussed the opportunities and challenges arising from the implementation of the WMC. These included the role that the financial industry will play in distributing products through the scheme, as well as the scope of products that will be available, and the tax implications for investors.

Hong Kong Guangdong Youth Association, together with the University of Hong Kong and Proactive Think Tank, conducted a survey recently on Hong Kong Youth Employment and Greater Bay Area (GBA) Development. At a YEC webinar on 31 March, Ken Ng, Senior Executive of the Hong Kong Guangdong Youth Association, shared the results of this research into young people's employment outlook and their views on Hong Kong's economic prospects. He also made a few policy suggestions that the Government could consider for the development of the GBA.

Gordon Lam, Chairman, Sinofuture Group and Vice Chairman, Hong Kong Guangdong Youth Association, and Shawn Chen, Director, Strategy, Coordination & Execution of UMP Healthcare China, also joined the discussion.

The panel discussed some of the key points raised in the survey, including the importance of culture, finance and housing. These are some of the main considerations which may make or break a young graduate’s decision to work in the Greater Bay Area under the Youth Employment Scheme.