Crypto News: Biotech brain drain in Hong Kong

Hi there, it's Jinshan in Hong Kong. Recently, I visited a biotech startup in Hong Kong that had too much office space compared to its number of employees, reflecting the city's problem attracting talent. But first...

China's daily Covid cases rise t he most since Aug. 10.
Unilever is disclosing how heathy — or unhealthy — its food is based on its own criteria.
Walgreens-controlled VillageMD is looking to buy SummitHealth for a valuation as high as $10 billion.

Before the pandemic, Hong Kong was the biotech center of Asia. In 2019, the city was the world's second-largest funding hub for the industry, and also the second most popular listing destination for startups yet to turn a profit.

That status is proving hard to maintain after the city's bruising fight with Covid-19. Its adherence to strict restrictions long after most of the world reopened has meant difficulty attracting talent to the city, a problem that's hitting the biotech industry hard.

It's something that PHASE Scientific International Ltd., a company that makes diagnostics tools for cancer and infectious diseases, is struggling with. It has way more office space than its 220 Hong Kong-based employees require, but can't find anyone to hire that fits the criteria of having three or more years experience.

A Covid-19 community isolation facility under construction in the Lok Ma Chau Loop area of Hong Kong, China, on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. Photographer: Bertha Wang/Bloomberg

"Before, Hong Kong was like 'hey, if you want to come, you come. If you don't want to come, I don't need you', right?", Chiu told me earlier this month. "Now it's like 'please come here, stay first, then we can talk later.'"

That attitude change is being reflected in government policy, with new Chief Executive John Lee announcing a two-year visa program for people who bring in at least HK$2.5 million ($318,500) annually, or who are recent graduates of the world's top 100 universities. The city is also targeting high-tech workers, suspending the annual quota for skilled talent visas and allowing non-local graduates to extend the duration of their stay from one to two years.

Yet, with Hong Kong still lagging the world in resuming pre-pandemic life and travel, especially in contrast to finance hub rival Singapore, it remains to be seen if the new policies will help reverse the city's brain drain. Masks are still mandatory everywhere, even outdoors, with limits on the size of group gatherings allowed in restaurants and in public.

While housing costs are falling, it may be some time before highly-skilled biotech workers find Hong Kong an attractive destination again. —Jinshan Hong

More Americans are taking ketamine at home to treat depression without medical oversight, The Wall Street Journal says.
The dearth of mental healthcare resources is making people turn to unorthodox methods like TikTok support groups, according to The Washington Post.
A complex set of factors is causing a spike in early puberty, reports The New Yorker.

Ask us anything — well, anything health-related that is! Each week we're picking a reader question and putting it to our network of experts. So get in touch via AskPrognosis@bloomberg.net.