In a bid to attract and retail talents, Shenzhen's government is expanding its "affordable housing" program to ease housing pressures as homes prices in the city continue to climb.

Such move is also seen to have a detrimental effect on Hong Kong, where living costs are much higher, with the authorities struggling to deal with the threat from Shenzhen's push to recruit talented professionals.

Caleb Baker, managing director of Asia Pacific and emerging markets at Alexander Mann Solutions, said that despite higher salaries in Hong Kong, mainland professionals working in the SAR are still forced to tighten their belts amid skyrocketing living and homes rental costs.

In Shenzhen, a further 350,000 "affordable" residential units will be made available in the next five years, with 70 percent of them set to benefit recognized talents.

The city has, in the past five years, put out 100,000 "affordable" homes with a total investment of 65 billion yuan ($9.9 billion), 60 percent of which catered to professional talents.

Such homes generally refer to public rental and budget units costing an average of less than 10,000 yuan per square meter - about one-fourth of the city's average housing prices.

Talented people can also enjoy rental-free apartments, rental allowances or priority to purchase budget homes. So far, more than 300,000 talented professionals have benefited from the program, with about 1.9 billion yuan in rental allowances offered.

These professionals need to be officially recognized to enjoy the privileges. They are assessed by the Shenzhen Human Resources Social Security Bureau based on their educational qualifications and career backgrounds.

Those who graduated with a bachelor's degree (or above) and hired by major Shenzhen companies can receive a monthly rental allowance of between 600 and 800 yuan for up to three years.

Recognition of higher talents requires outstanding achievements, such as having won national scientific prizes or having led key experimental projects. Shenzhen has extended recognition to more than 5,000 top-level talents since 2008, with 60 percent of them being in the advanced technology industry.

Young entrepreneurs and talents from venture capital firms were included in the program late last year as part of the city's efforts to encourage massive innovation.

Song Aotian, a graduate of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said he was very much attracted by the housing program, adding that young entrepreneurs would be happy setting down in first-tier cities.

"Housing is one of the most important things in life. Such preferential policies can substantially reduce the pressure of young people having to purchase homes," he said.

Song is a core member of a Shenzhen-based startup engaged in developing environmentally-friendly construction materials. The company was granted 20 million yuan in capital funding by the Shenzhen government last year.

grace@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 01/15/2016 page8)