Hong Kong has done it again. It is first in Asia and fourth in the world in the World Talent Rankings by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
Not only is Hong Kong a key player in the world’s leading innovation cluster, but the city is also shooting up the charts as a global hub for top talent.
Since 2016 Switzerland has continually secured the top spot while second this year was Luxembourg, followed by Iceland third, Hong Kong fourth and Singapore in seventh place.
In global rankings, Hong Kong came first in graduates in science, fifth in the female labour force participation, third in the availability of finance skills and fifth in the effectiveness of management education, the key parameters used to allocate the rankings.
An interesting aspect in the IMD report was that the judiciary was ranked seventh in the world for being “fairly administrated.” In the 2024 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, Hong Kong remained unchanged as it continued to rank sixth in the East Asia and Pacific region and came 23rd out of 142 countries and jurisdictions globally. The US came 26th. This is one aspect which critics should note, especially in the coming months when a number of high-profile national security cases come to court.
However, it was not all roses. Hong Kong reached its lowest ranking position in the cost-of-living index (66th). Also, further improvement could be undertaken in the quality of primary and secondary education, as measured by the pupil-teacher ratio (both ranked 19th).
Although primary and secondary education was rated rather low compared to other countries, it is an area which the Government is focussing close attention. In last year’s policy address the Chief Executive (CE) John Lee said the Government’s recurrent expenditure on education was on the rise, totalling $106.8 billion in 2024-25, an increase of nearly 50 per cent over expenditure 10 years ago. This is about 3.9 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product, which the Financial Secretary may consider improving in next year’s budget.
However, Hong Kong is doing well in tertiary education where it received top marks both locally and globally for graduates in sciences. The city boasts five of the world's top 100 universities with outstanding research talent, making it an international hub for exchanges and collaboration among high-calibre talent. This is to be further enriched with the Northern Metropolis University in the coming years. And this is where the city is providing a career for top talents with facilities available at the Cyberport and Science Park.
In fact, the CE made this a key topic in last year’s policy address with a chapter titled “Build Hong Kong into an International Hub for High-calibre Talents” and it is likely it will remain a key topic in this year’s address on September 17. He is expected to give updates on the establishment of the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, to co-ordinate and drive the integrated development of education, technology and talent. It will also formulate policies to attract and cultivate talent, foster the development of technologies, as well as promoting Hong Kong as an international hub for high-calibre talent.
By the end of August, more than 520 000 applications were received under various talent admission schemes, with some 350 000 applications approved.
The IMD report follows hot on the heels of The World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025 top 100 innovation clusters published on September 1, in which the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster came first in the world for the first time.
This reflects the high international recognition of the I&T capacity of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, indicating that it is an ideal place for global innovation and technology (I&T) talent to develop and grow their careers.
The GII captures the entrepreneurial activity and innovation finance within the clusters by emphasizing start-ups and spin-offs. Together, the metrics reveal those areas where there is a high concentration of inventors, scientific authors, and venture capital activity.
Investing in education has proved to be the answer for tomorrow’s world where innovation and technology is the key to development led by the Generation Z, those born in the era of the internet, smart phones and modern technology.
Mark Pinkstone
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
As Hong Kong has been developing in leaps and bounds, so has its medical services increased to meet local demands.
And with planned new hospitals in the Northern Metropolis along with current expansion and construction development, expertise is expected to increase and the dreaded waiting times for patients will be considerably reduced.
Hong Kong is poised to be the medical centre of Asia.
Currently, Hong Kong has about 36,000 beds in 43 public hospitals and 14 private hospitals. And already they are overcrowded, aided undoubtedly by an increasing aging population. Patients have to wait up to two hours for a consultation in public hospitals and up to a year or more for onward specialised bookings for appointment.
But that is about to change. Opening on December 11 in Tseung Kwan O will be the 400-bed Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong run by the Baptist University under the umbrella of the Health Bureau of the government and not to be confused with the Hospital Authority which runs all public hospitals and clinics in Hong Kong.
This is a major breakthrough for Chinese medicine (CM) to be fully integrated with research into western-Chinese medicines while serving the community. It will be the flagship for the 18 Chinese medicine clinics already operating in all districts in Hong Kong.
In its first year of operation, it will provide only outpatient 25 beds and day-patient services and six specialised CM services – internal medicine, external medicine, gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics and traumatology, and acupuncture and moxibustion. It will also provide 12 special disease programs including those for elderly degenerative diseases and stroke rehabilitation.
Inpatient services will start from late next year, with other services expanding year by year, including the remaining 11 special disease programs. It is expected that by the end of 2030, the hospital will provide full inpatient services with its 400 patient beds, as well as outpatient services of 400 000 annual attendances.
Construction is also well underway and above the foundations for the North District Hospital (NDH) extension in Sheung Shui. The expansion of NDH mainly covers the construction of a new hospital block, refurbishment, alteration and addition to existing hospital building, and the provision of associated internal roadworks as well as external and landscaping works. Upon completion of the expansion project in about 2028, the hospital will provide about 1,500 additional beds, atop of its 680 existing beds.
And then comes the mother of all hospitals: The Northern Metropolis Hospital in Ngau Tam Mei, south of Yuen Long, is developing a new integrated medical teaching and research hospital which will become the flagship hospital of the Northern Metropolis with about 3 000 beds, providing comprehensive healthcare services for the new population in the area.
Last year in his policy address, the Chief Executive John Lee announced plans for developing a new integrated medical teaching and research hospital which will become the flagship hospital of the Northern Metropolis, providing comprehensive healthcare services.
The area is a goldmine for development. Representing about one third of Hong Kong’s total land area, existing agricultural land and fishponds will be turned into a massive hub for international scientific and technical research and development.
In the First Hospital Development Plan, there are three projects in two clusters, including the expansion of North District Hospital, the redevelopment of Prince of Wales Hospital, and the extension of Operating Theatre Block for Tuen Mun Hospital. It is anticipated that a total of 1 950 additional beds and other hospital facilities will be provided by 2031 in the New Territories after the completion of the three projects, bringing the physical bed capacity in the east and west clusters in the New Territories to about 12 000 beds.
Most importantly on the backburner is a decision by the Chief Executive in Council (ExCo) last year that a site of about two hectares be reserved in the San Tin Technopole (between Yuen Long and Sheung Shui) for healthcare facilities “which may include private hospital use.”
A private hospital in the New Territories opens up many possibilities, including medical tourism.
The Chinese medical hospital will draw in many tourists from the mainland and Asia seeking medical help through traditional Chinese and western medicine methods. A tourism hospital situated along the Chinese boundary will boost tourism figures ten-fold.
A case in point is the Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a classic example of how the private sector can benefit in healthcare. Founded in 1980, Bumrungrad International Hospital has been a global pioneer in providing world-class healthcare services and international patient support for nearly four decades. The hospital is an internationally accredited, multi-specialty hospital listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand since 1989. It is, perhaps the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia, caring for more than 1.1 million patients annually from more than 190 countries.
