Australia is “specifically targeting” Hong Kong’s highly talented students and individuals who will be able to contribute to its economy, a minister told CNBC this week.
Canberra announced last week that it would offer help to people wishing to move from Hong Kong after the implementation of the new national security law on June 30. Australia’s decision followed that of Taiwan and the United Kingdom, which also offered help to Hong Kongers seeking resettlement elsewhere.
“Australia is an immigrant nation and we are constantly chasing talents from around the world,” Australian Minister of Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” on Tuesday.
The country announced last week that “qualified and graduated visa holders” would have their visas extended for five years, and that there would be a “path to permanent residence” at the end of that period.
Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, but the territory is given more freedoms than other cities on the continent. Hong Kong has a largely separate economic and legal system, and has limited electoral rights.
We will specifically target students and really talented people in Hong Kong who, if they wish, can contribute to the economy here.
Alan Tudge
Australian Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure.
Attracting talent and business
Australia has entered a recession, and Tudge said that is one of the reasons he wants to attract skilled workers.
He noted that the recession is “devastating” to the hundreds of thousands of people who are unemployed, and said the government’s “absolute approach” is to grow the economy again and get people back to work.
“In part, that’s what our approach to super talent in Hong Kong and elsewhere is about,” Tudge told CNBC.
He also said: “We will specifically target students and really talented people in Hong Kong who, if they wish, will be able to contribute to the economy here.”
A woman heads to an exit gate at Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport.
Christian Keenan | fake pictures
Australia also wants to attract companies that want to move their regional headquarters out of Hong Kong.
Tudge said the media, financial services and consulting firms have indicated that they are looking to relocate their operations, and that Australia wants it to be attractive to them to settle in their cities.
Offering visas is a factor because it ensures that critical company personnel can move to Australia and have a path to permanent residence and citizenship, he said.
As for the high corporate taxes that could deter companies, Tudge said “boutique financial deals” could be offered to individual companies.
Tax rates for companies in Australia reach 30%, compared to 16.5% in Hong Kong.
– CNBC’s Huileng Tan and Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.
.
