Despite slip, Hong Kong remains most ‘talented’ economy in Asia

Panoramic view of the Hong Kong skyline taken from a path around Victoria Peak
Panoramic view of the Hong Kong skyline taken from a path around Victoria Peak

Hong Kong is more talented than Singapore, according to Coconut Hong Kong’s gut feeling and, oh yeah, research.

Released today, the 2017 “World Talent Rankings” put the city at number 12 globally, three spots down from its 2016 ranking, but still first in Asia, one spot head of those slightly less talented Singaporeans.

The study — conducted by Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development — is based on a survey of thousands of executives from 63 different economies.

It assesses the methods countries use to develop, attract and retain the talent their businesses need to thrive.

Categories are split among —investment and development, appeal, and readiness — with subsections measuring some 30 indicators, including everything from expenditure on education and health infrastructure to cost-of-living, wages and language skills.

According to Hong Kong’s country profile, the country’s top weaknesses are expenditure on education (where the country is ranked 55th), cost of living (ranked 61st) and labor force growth (43rd).

Regionally, Singapore placed one behind Hong Kong at 13. Taiwan ranked 23rd, Malaysia 28th and Japan 31st.

The top of the talent pops was taken by Switzerland — which scored a straight 100 — followed by Denmark, Belgium, Austria and Finland.

In fact, Europe dominated the list, with 11 out of the 15 most talent competitive economies based on the continent.

The report attributed Europe’s talent to “outstanding education systems”.

No mention was made of the role Eurovision played in fostering talent. They probably just forgot.



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