CONFIDENTIAL
THE BRAIN DRAIN
4.
under FOI exemption 27(1)
The Price Waterhouse Report on Emigration published in December
drew attention to the fact that professional, technical, managerial
and administrative personnel were disproportionately represented among emigrants compared to the population at large (some 20% of emigrants as opposed to 5.5% of the population). Total emigration
in 1989 and in 1990 is estimated at 42,000 and 55,000 respectively
though it should be noted that this includes non-working spouses and
children. If current emigration levels persist, close to 78,000 key
personnel will leave over the next 7 years. This is 25% of the present professional, technical, managerial and administrative labour pool (excluding new entrants).
5. Amongst the initial reactions to the Secretary of State's
statement on 20 December OMELCO announced that
"We are confident that those who receive the passports will have
the peace of mind to remain in Hong Kong and contribute to Hong
CONFIDENTIAL