Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 22, 2025

Bankers leaving Hong Kong face grim job markets, high taxes in migration options

Bankers leaving Hong Kong face grim job markets, high taxes in migration options

Hard-earned skills, languages and contacts that helped bankers thrive in the Asian finance hub will not all travel. Preferred destinations like Canada, Australia and the UK impose taxes that are three times higher than in the city

After several years weighing the pros and cons of leaving Hong Kong, Ms Lee is taking the plunge and moving to Canada. Though she has no job lined up, faces higher taxes and will have to endure harsh winters for the first time, she is willing to risk it.

“Am I worried about my job prospects in Canada? Of course I’m worried,” said the compliance officer at a major global financial firm who asked that her first name not be used. “The economy isn’t great and firms are freezing headcount. I can say this is probably the worst time to migrate.”

As China strengthens its hold on Hong Kong with a new security law, residents considering an escape are coming to grips with the sacrifices they will face. With the global economy enmeshed in the worst recession in almost a century, jobs are hard to find and countries are tightening borders.

Hard-earned skills, languages and contacts that helped them thrive in the Asian finance hub will not all travel. And preferred destinations like Canada, Australia and the UK impose taxes that are three times higher.

“Just because you were successful in Hong Kong doing a certain job does not mean that there’s going to be an appetite for your skill set or experience in another country,” said John Mullally, regional director at Robert Walters Plc, who handles financial sector recruitment for Southern China and Hong Kong. “It’s probably one of the worst times in our living history to be rocking up in a new country and expecting to land a job.”

The challenges aren’t deterring people like Lee. She is already bought a house in Toronto and plans to move in October, forgoing a job paying more than HK$1 million ($130,000) a year. Lee, in her 30s, and her husband first applied for a visa in 2014 as a back-up plan in case things got worse. In her view it has, with the security law becoming the last straw.

“We have lost any optimism toward the Hong Kong government,” she said, convinced that the finance hub will become just another Chinese city with curbs on free speech and censored television. “We do not want to stay here any longer.”

Even with the risks that come with relocation – especially in the middle of a global pandemic – recruiters are seeing an uptick in demand. Two years ago, about 80% of job-hunters who came to see Mullally were looking for work in Hong Kong. Now about half of them are seeking work abroad, driven by the security measures along with dwindling job prospects in a city embroiled in a deep recession of its own.

“The message they gave me is they just do not feel that Hong Kong for them is long-term the best option from a career and earnings perspective,” Mullally said.

While Hong Kong does not publish immigration statistics, applications for good citizenship cards – which certify a person does not have a criminal record – serve as a proxy because they’re often needed to apply for foreign visas. The monthly number of applications averaged 2,935 from June 2019 to April 2020, a 50% jump versus 2018.

Yet with unemployment rate in Canada at double digits and Australia close to that, émigrés like Sam recognise the job search will not be easy. The senior investment banker at a global firm is moving with his wife and two kids to Australia in three months.

Sam spent his teens in Australia, but has been in Hong Kong for 20 years, developing contacts that launched his banking career. He declined to reveal his salary, though investment bankers in Hong Kong are typically awarded bonuses that are 50% higher than in Sydney, Mullally said.

Senior private bankers meanwhile earn about 30% more in Hong Kong than in Australia, said Rick Chung, a Hong Kong-based recruiter for banking and finance at Randstad NV who is seeing about 10 to 15 finance people a week looking for jobs abroad.

Sam, 43, will have to start from scratch in Australia, and may have to switch careers. With the top marginal income tax rate of about 45% – versus 15% in Hong Kong – he’ll also have less money to spend.

“I left Australia many, many years ago and I don’t have any corporate contacts there so it’d be hard for me to stay in investment banking,” said Sam, who did not want his last name published. “Taxes are so much higher in Australia so I don’t think I will be able to earn as much.”

A mid-level mergers and acquisitions banker named Leung is also considering a move – to London. Leung, 38, worked there for five years before coming back to Hong Kong a decade ago. Like Sam, he is looking for a better place to raise his three-year-old son. Leung does not hold UK citizenship but has a British National Overseas passport granted to Hong Kong residents before the colony was handed back to China in 1997.

Leung has no job lined up in London, where bankers typically earn about 15% more than in Hong Kong, but also pay triple the taxes. While housing in Hong Kong is among the most expensive in the world, London isn’t far behind.

“I don’t mind giving up what we have in Hong Kong to trade for a better future for my son,” said Leung, adding the hardest part will be leaving his parents behind. “I don’t mind starting all over again.”

Another investment banker at a US firm named Tang spent his teen years in Canada and has a passport allowing him to eventually retire there. For now, the 50-year-old prefers to stay put with his three kids for another few years.

“I have to say Hong Kong is still the financial Centre where bankers make the most take-home salary,” Tang said.

Lee meanwhile, is getting ready to head to Toronto in a few weeks, after winning a bidding war to buy a house in the city’s west end. Many friends may follow suit she says, while another colleague at her firm just quit to decamp to the UK
Edward Zhang, an agent with Dracco Pacific Realty in Vancouver, which markets high-end homes, said a friend just referred six friends from Hong Kong seeking properties in the Canadian city.

“So many around me are plotting to leave Hong Kong,” Lee said. “Honestly, who isn’t?”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Black Box Recovered from Air India Crash Site
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Global News Roundup: From Ukraine's strategic military strikes and Russia's demands and Tensions Escalate in Ukraine, to serious legal issues faced by Britons in Bali and Trump's media criticism, the latest developments highlight a turbulent landscape
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
×