Hong Kong employers seek skilled tech talent overseas
According to a report from Glints, Hong Kong-based employers are expected to increase their demand for skilled tech talent from Southeast Asia due to a talent shortage and brain drain in the tech sector. The Hong Kong government’s recent announcement to “trawl for talent” globally to attract talent back to the country has further reinforced this trend.
The Managing Director of Glints, Puay Lim Yeo, noted that Hong Kong-based employers are becoming more adaptable by hiring skilled talent from markets like Indonesia and Vietnam, thus building high-performing teams in a cost-efficient way. The report also highlights cost advantages for Hong Kong-based employers in hiring for Southeast Asia tech talent, as well as more manageable salary expectations for talent in 2023 compared to previous years.
In terms of median salaries for tech and tech-adjacent roles, the report found that there are cost advantages to hiring skilled talent in Southeast Asia. For instance, median salaries for tech roles such as engineering, product, and data are 2.5 times higher in Hong Kong than in Southeast Asia, while median salaries for business development roles are 3 times higher in Hong Kong compared to Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
However, the report also noted that median salaries for senior software engineers with 5-10 years of experience are 3 times higher in Hong Kong compared to Indonesia and the Philippines and 1.8 times higher than in Vietnam. Additionally, median salaries for product manager roles are 2-3 times higher in Hong Kong than in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
