Singapore is a more competitive talent hub than Hong Kong

The SAR's invests only 3.3% of GDP into education.

Hong Kong dropped six places to settle at 18th place in the global talent competitiveness leaderboard compiled by the IMD World Talent Ranking 2018 as it trails behind Singapore (13th place) in its capability to develop, attract and retain skilled professionals.

The SAR ranked ninth in the readiness subcategory which measures the availability and competencies of the talent pool. Hong Kong also nabbed 14th place appeal amidst its attractiveness to foreign workers which is necessary to sustain its top-tier talent pool given its small size. 

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The sustainability, however, is in question as Hong Kong still trails behind most major cities in terms of public investments in education, a development that could also be observed in Singapore. Both countries still invest less in education than 4.5% of GDP than the average of most countries in the index.

To this end, Hong Kong ranks 31st in investment and development as the government only shells out 3.3% of GDP on education and 20.3% on the secondary education per student.

Also read: Hong Kong urged to double university research funding to $4b

Switzerland held on the crown for the fifth consecutive year with Denmark trailing closely behind. The European dominance was evident in the global rankings with Norway, Austria and Netherlands rounding out the top five.