A Guangdong official yesterday (Jun 28) said that the province welcomes young people from Hong Kong to work in the province.

"They are welcome to serve in all positions in the Pearl River Delta, including in public service," said Yang Shaosen, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Human Resourses Administration, addressing a 100-member youth delegation from Hong Kong yesterday.

The delegates, comprising university students and fresh graduates, are on the first day of a three-day visit to Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shenzhen.

"The visit provides the young talents opportunities to have first-hand experience of the area, in addition to textbook and media information," said Chan Wai-kwan, delegation leader and senior director of the business policy with Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC).

This is the second time such a study trip has been organized for youths since last year.

Participants in last year's trip were more confident of job opportunities in Guangdong, he said.

A survey by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce found that more than half of Hong Kong-invested enterprises on the mainland prefer to hire Hong Kong talent - even at a higher cost.

And Cheng Yiu-tong, an expert on mainland-Hong Kong relations, said young people in Hong Kong have to consider jobs outside the city since employment in some sectors has reached "saturation" levels.

"The Chinese mainland is a nice choice," he said.

Raymond Ip, a third-year student of business studies, from the City University of Hong Kong, told China Daily that he believes working on the mainland is a challenge as the country is fast integrating with the world. "The mainland is a much larger market and opportunity than Hong Kong," he said.

Amy Woo, a first-year statistics major of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, said she participated to gain a broader perspective.

As of the end of 2003, more than 100,000 people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan were working in Guangdong. The figure is still rising, said Lin Wangping, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Labour and Social Security Administration.

Editor: Donald