Hong Kong - Air pollution is causing expatriates to shun Hong Kong in favour of other cities such as Singapore, a media report said Monday. A lack of places at international schools and the city's redevelopment of unique historical buildings with modern shopping malls and offices are also undermining the city's appeal with expatriates, the South China Morning Post said.
Headhunters and personnel executives said government plans to cut taxes, by 1 per cent to 16.5 per cent for corporations and 1 per cent to 15 per cent for individuals, could help, but expatriates are also interested in the quality of life.
"Tax cuts are great but the clients we deal with, executives, are more interested in the big picture and want to know what it's like to live in Hong Kong. So pollution is a big concern," said Gina McLellan, country manager for Hudson, a recruitment agency.
She said families would have seen stories in the international press about the government demolishing landmarks such as the Star Ferry Terminal, Queen's Pier and other historic buildings in favour of more concrete and glass buildings.
"If they come from Europe, Australia or the US, they want to experience things here as well as work, and they don't want a clinical city," she said.
AT&T regional human resources director Syed Ali Abbas, added that Singapore and Shanghai are rapidly catching up with Hong Kong as a haven for expatriates.
"The downside for Hong Kong, compared with Singapore, is that expats are generally interested most in the quality of life," he said.
A major academic study earlier in the year suggested four people a day are dying of pollution-related diseases in Hong Kong such as respiratory illnesses.
More than 80 per cent of Hong Kong's air pollution comes from the neighbouring industrial Guangdong province in southern China but initiatives to reduce cross-border pollution have had only limited success.
