A bright future awaits Filipino migrant workers in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as the city opens up its economy to revive its status as an international financial hub, resulting in increased demands in manpower and talents from across the world.

The Secretary for Labor and Welfare of the HKSAR Government Chris Sun Yuk-Han, in an interview with The Manila Times, said that the HKSAR is home to 190,000 Filipino domestic helpers, and they are the largest source, accounting for 57% of the total population of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

According to Sun, they were also opening their labor market to foreign caregivers and health care workers, but pointed out that Filipinos have a considerable advantage from other nationals because their training was comparable to Hong Kong's standard in care-giving.

Sun added that he had seen how future caregivers were trained at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority which, he noted, was similar in procedure to that in Hong Kong.

'How they take care of the elderly, the baby, it's very similar. They are using the same standard, training and protocols,' he further said. He also assured that Filipinos and other foreign workers were well taken care of by the Hong Kong government, giving them equal protection and benefits enjoyed by local people.

Sun likewise disclosed that Hong Kong has also opened its door to qualified Filipinos and other overseas talents by granting them an initial two-year visa as it gears for an economic comeback.

'Right now we are opening our economy and starting to grow. The number one concern of employers is to recruit more people so business can grow. I make use of my trip to promote Hong Kong as destination for talents from the Philippines,' he said. 'What they need to show is either they earn a high salary or a degree holder from one of the top 100 universities in the world.'

Hong Kong launched a new portal (https://www.hkengage.gov.hk) a month ago to accept applications from foreign talents who wanted to apply under its talent drive scheme. Among the talents needed are in the field of innovation and technology, talents with cultural perspective and talents in trading, aviation, and maritime.

'There are a lot of opportunities here. Hong Kong is opening up like the Philippines,' he added. 'Two weeks after it was launched, we already received more than 4,400 applications.

'We believe that in the coming years there will be a lot of opportunities for talents to explore. Together with Hong Kong as an international city, and our position as a doorway to Mainland China and the Greater Bay Area. I believe there is no place in the region better than Hong Kong for talents to develop their career and do something they would be proud of,' he further said.

He explained that applicants do not have to show up in Hong Kong. All procedures could be done in the talent portal.

Qualified applicants would be issued a two-year pass with no condition.

'You don't need to find a job or put up anything. If you find a job or try to put up a business within two years, we will extend the visa by another two years and on the 7th year, we will give you a 6-year extension,' adding that a successful high paying job in Hong Kong could earn one up to HK$2 million a year.