Bringing tech workers to Hong Kong not an option, Vietnamese IT outsourcing firm says

“The Vietnamese workers speak Vietnamese and English, and it might not be cost-effective for them to work here on local projects due to their [lack of] understanding of Hong Kong culture.”

Vietnamese tech workers can now get work visas through Hong Kong’s variety of talent schemes after the city government expanded eligibility criteria last October.

NTQ recently renamed its joint venture in the city to NTQ Apac as it set its sights on expansion in Southeast Asian markets, Australia and mainland China after it outbid domestic rivals for projects in South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong.

Chong, a Hongkonger and who is spearheading the regional push, said the financial hub was an ideal location.

“There are remittance and investment restrictions in Vietnam, while Hong Kong is a great hub that allows capital to be invested in different countries because of the very different business environment,” Chong said.

“We are also taking a more ‘premium’ approach in the Hong Kong market that allows us to compete with bigger rivals. We hope to ride on this branding advantage as we foray into other Southeast Asian markets.”

He said a brain drain in Hong Kong’s IT sector in recent years had been a double-edged sword.

“When [companies] can’t find talent in Hong Kong, they have to resort to outsourcing and that is good for us,” he said.

“But we also need people to deal with our clients and oversee project management. Recruitment has become harder as we must hire local talent for these roles.”

A shortage of tech workers in Hong Kong has partly helped the newcomer secure prized corporate clients as competitors have struggled with staffing and big businesses have become more “open minded” to alternative solutions.

Vietnam is the final stop of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s six – day visit that also included Laos and Cambodia. The city leader arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday after he met Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha in Hanoi on the same day.

The country has emerged as a major player in the outsourcing of IT services because of lower labour costs, as well as a tech-savvy and young workforce.

The Hong Kong branch of NTQ was set up in 2021 to serve corporate customers in the city.

Marketing and project management are handled by a Hong Kong-based team of about 20 city staff, but delivery of its core IT services and products is entirely dependent on the company’s Vietnam-based tech workers.

Winnie Wong Wing-yee, the general secretary of the Hong Kong Business Association Vietnam, agreed there would be “little value added” in importing tech workers from the country and a better solution would be for the two places to collaborate remotely.

“Vietnam has been evolving as a business process outsourcing tech hub because of the relatively lower cost for talent. If you move them to Hong Kong, then you lose the biggest competitive advantage,” she said.

She said Hong Kong had a special place in the hearts of many Vietnamese and its appeal was very strong, but cumbersome visa application processes remained an obstacle to attracting more visitors and talent from the country.

IT sector legislator Duncan Chiu, who is part of Lee’s delegation, said Hong Kong companies of all sizes, including start-ups, were increasingly outsourcing fundamental development processes to Vietnam-based companies.

He added he considered such moves a solution for city firms to deal with the skilled worker shortage and continue their growth.

“The soul, design and user interface of your product still has to be decided by some middle- and high-level people [in Hong Kong],” he said.

“Our capabilities will not be lost because you can’t outsource something that you have no idea about in the first place. We are just outsourcing the simpler tasks to others.”

Lawmaker Johnny Ng Kit-chong, another delegation member and founder of tech venture capital firm Goldford Group, said Hong Kong’s high cost of living should not hinder its tech hub ambitions.

“The more competitive a place is, the more expensive it is and this is how the world works,” he added.

“We don’t have to lower our prices to accommodate others. We should attract people who are more capable.”