Great start to Hong Kong man's career on Chinese mainland

As his parents had been developing a business in the Chinese mainland since he was a child, Hong Kong native Alvin Wong followed them into the mainland for schooling and stayed on for university.

After graduating from the Central University of Finance and Economics in 2016, he worked as an accountant in a State-owned enterprise in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. In 2018, Wong was admitted to study as a postgraduate at Sun Yat-sen University, based in Guangzhou, Guangdong's provincial capital.

When he was about to graduate in 2020, Wong received a job offer for an accounting position at a Hong Kong real estate company.

However, "My teacher told me that Guangdong was recruiting civil servants from Hong Kong and Macao — a move to promote talent exchanges between Guangdong and the two special administrative regions," he said.

An improved business and living environment in Guangdong, along with incentive policies for young talents from Hong Kong and Macao led Wong to reject the job offer from the real estate company.

Instead, "I applied for the new (civil servant) position, along with a dozen other candidates that fit the criteria," said Wong.

Local authorities in Guangdong began to select candidates from the two SARs for civil servant posts for the first time in 2020. They were following an outline of the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in 2019, which stressed the importance of promoting talent exchanges between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

"I studied for about a month and signed up for a course to hone my answers and interview skills," said the 28-year-old.

After several rounds of examination and interviews, Wong got the job. He now helps attract foreign investment and provides guidance to startups in Nansha, part of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

As one of the first Hong Kong residents to become a civil servant on the Chinese mainland, Wong is mainly responsible for the investment promotion of industries including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and aerospace, which are emerging businesses in Nansha.

"It is a great platform for my career development because I have seen a lot of amazing companies here and there will be more such companies from emerging industries in the near future," he said.

Nansha, located in the southern part of Guangzhou, has given priority to the development of industries including intelligent automobiles, high-end equipment, new generation electronic information, biomedicine and health, new materials and new energy as economic pillars.

"It is a nice place to live. Also, it is an ideal place to invest; high-rise buildings and major projects have sprung up here in recent years," he said.

Citing the booming semiconductor industry in Nansha, which has realized the layout of the wide band gap semiconductor industrial chain, Wong said Hong Kong and Macao residents should visit the mainland more often and look for job and investment opportunities.

"There will be huge job and investment potential, especially following the issuance of an overall plan to promote cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao by deepening the opening-up of Nansha," he said.

In addition to building joint scientific and technological innovation systems for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the plan, released by the State Council, China's Cabinet, stressed the importance of creating a youth entrepreneurship and employment cooperation platform in Nansha.

"I have been familiar with Hong Kong and Macao companies. I hope my job will help introduce more international companies to invest and more young people from the two special administrative regions to start their businesses in Nansha," he said.

Following the release of the plan in June, Wong has to meet four or five companies a day, which come to Nansha exploring investment opportunities.

"My daily schedule is almost full; introducing relevant policies to company managers, negotiating land and office space for enterprises and arranging trips for business research," he said.