In the eyes of Zhang Zhen and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Youth Federation (HKSTYF), talent plays a role in the development of a company or an area just as science and technology serves as the primary driving forces for a country or region. That’s why they started to run the business in the Qianhai International Talent Hub in June shortly after the hub invited them.

Zhang, an executive representative of HKSTYF’s affairs on the mainland, said: “Most of HKSTYF’s members are individuals who play central roles in companies. We believe such talents are the core driving forces for both their companies and our federation. The Qianhai International Talent Hub’s slogan of making the hub the ‘first stop’ and ‘first choice’ for global talents seeking employment, entrepreneurship and life in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is very attractive. The talent hub has many headhunting agencies, consulting firms and research institutes that can help talents find suitable jobs and make quality friends in Qianhai.”

The Qianhai International Talent Hub, located at Minsheng E-commerce Headquarters Tower in Qianhai’s Guiwan area, offers 48,000 square meters of office space in its Phase I and has introduced dozens of well-known institutions such as Boston Consulting Group, Elsevier, Hays and Hudson since it was put into use this January.

In July, the talent hub joined hands with Hong Kong Science Park (HKSP), China Everbright Co. Ltd. and HKSTYF to hold a small sci-tech forum, attracting 35 HKSP companies to attend through video conferencing and 30 Qianhai companies to the forum venue. The forum focused on the impact of the international situation on the semiconductor industry, the current and future development of China’s chip industry, and how to leverage the advantages of Shenzhen and Hong Kong to contribute to the quality development of China’s electronics industry.

This was only one of the 82 similar events that the talent hub had held in the past eight months. The events have served over 2,500 companies and nearly 520,000 people, providing them with guidance and assistance they need to develop in Qianhai.

“We have studied some industrial theories and found that the agglomeration of talents and industrial resources will generate some sorts of unexpected opportunities and values. Before the talent hub was launched, we didn’t see a place or platform in Shenzhen that is perfect for international high-end talents to gather,” Zhang said. “After learning about the talent hub’s overall planning, we believed that this was a suitable choice for us to introduce Hong Kong and foreign technology talents who wanted to develop on the mainland.”

Zhang also said that the talent hub can serve as a “bridge” or “bond” for talents on the Chinese mainland, in Hong Kong and overseas countries, which coincides with HKSTYF’s aspiration.

The talent hub also provides 100 exclusive services for international high-end talents such as strategic scientists, leading and young tech talents, and outstanding engineers. In addition, 451 items of government affairs and business or life services can be handled in a one-stop manner in the talent hub.

The convenient and considerate services have attracted an increasing number of talents to Qianhai, which in turn injects more vitality to the area’s development.

Statistics from Qianhai Authority shows that the number of individuals paying personal income tax in Qianhai has reached 965,000 this year, surging by 29.7% year on year, and the actual use of foreign capital in the area amounted to US$3.53 billion in the first six months of this year, up 17.4% year on year.