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The one thing Hong Kong can offer expats: career advancement

Expats considered Hong Kong the best place for them to move up the career ladder, according to new findings by HSBC’s Expat Explorer.

The study found 68% of Hong Kong expats consider the city a good place to move their career forward, making it the top-ranked city for career progression.

Many expats in Hong Kong focus on their personal or career development.  86% said moving to the city provides them the chance to acquire new skills is better than or just as good as at home.  Nearly half (47%) said they moved there for a new challenge, 38% to improve their job prospects and 29% because their employer sent them.

In regional rival Singapore, 61% of the expats think working there will be good for getting ahead at work.  More than 60% of expats in the United Kingdom and United States also think working in these countries can help their career development.

Although Hong Kong is best for career progression, its has nothing else to offer.  The poll which which considered scores for economics, experience, and family ranked Singapore the best destination for expats for the second year in a row, followed by New Zealand and Canada.  Hong Kong is ranked 13, down from 11 last year.

Here is the full ranking for 2016.

Almost 27,000 respondents in 190 countries and territories took part in the poll.  Over half of the Hong Kong expats surveyed were between 34-54, 49% worked in the financial sector, and 35% were from the United Kingdom.

More than 60% of Hong Kong expats said they earned more than in their home country, compared with 45% globally.  Hong Kong expats earn about US$170,000 or HK$1.32 million a year on average, more than the global average of US$97,000 for an expat.

There are also benefits for families living in Hong Kong, 80% of expat parents state that the quality of education is better than at home.

But the high cost of living continues to plague the city, 75% of expat parents feel it is more expensive to raise children in Hong Kong  than in their country of origin.

This echoes the findings by InterNations Expat Insider Survey earlier this month, which ranked the Asia’s world city is at a dismal 44th out of 67 places for the best place to live for expats, with 72% saying the living expenses of Hong Kong is high.

ALSO READ: The most expensive cities in Asia Pacific for business travellers

Photo/ 123RF

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