HONG KONG -- John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said on Thursday that more than 70,000 people have moved to Hong Kong so far this year through various talent admission schemes.

This number is way beyond the target of 35,000 people coming to Hong Kong each year, which fully reflects Hong Kong's strong international attraction and competitiveness in enticing talents from around the world, said Lee at the establishment ceremony of the Hong Kong Top Talent Services Association.

He said the HKSAR government had received more than 180,000 applications for the schemes in the first 10 months of this year, of which more than 110,000 were approved.

Among the about 55,000 applications received under the Top Talent Pass Scheme, more than 43,000 were approved.

He believes talent is the first resource, saying that after the COVID-19 pandemic, countries and regions around the world have been striving to accelerate economic development, and all governments have introduced various measures to compete for talent.

Last year, the HKSAR government also introduced more innovative and proactive measures to attract talent to Hong Kong, Lee added.