(Yicai Global) Feb. 23 -- Shanghai, which has a skilled workforce of 6.75 million people, continues to be the top choice for expatriates, overseas returnees and college graduates looking to further their careers. To ensure it retains its globally attractive talent pool, the city is rolling out supportive measures such as more affordable housing.

Nearly a quarter of foreign nationals working in China are based in Shanghai, at 215,000 people, the highest proportion in the country, according to the latest data. It is a top destination for overseas returnees who are educated abroad and choose to take up employment or start up their businesses in Shanghai, at 220,000. It is also the city of choice for job-hunting university graduates from across the country.

Shanghai has huge strengths in high-tech resources, which makes it easier to find highly qualified staff, Ma Handong, co-founder of Shanghai Sen Yi Medical Technology, told Yicai Global. Ma returned to Shanghai after receiving his master's degree in Biomedical Informatics from Columbia University and founded the company with a few partners. At the time, he chose to locate his company in Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park where the rent was fairly cheap. “Renting the first office only cost CNY4,000 (USD633) per month,” he added.

The majority of graduates from Shanghai’s best schools choose to stay in the city, according to Yicai Global research. Some 73.5 percent of Jiao Tong University’s and 72.8 percent of Fudan University’s 2019 graduates are working in Shanghai.

Zhou Qinghui, chief executive officer of Shanghai Graphic Digital Information, came to Shanghai to start his career more than a decade ago. He chose Shanghai because of the concentration of skilled talent, Zhou said.

The company’s chief technology officer, also from a university outside Shanghai, majored in image processing. It would be hard for him to get a matching salary and a promising future in other cities, Zhou said.

Better Support

Shanghai has made talent-led development one of the goals of its 14th Five-year Plan, which runs from 2021-2025. The municipality plans to make it easier for skilled workers from both home and abroad to settle in the city.

It is speeding up the construction of affordable housing for its residents. The city will build over 470,000 sets of rental-only homes from last year to 2025, accounting for 40 percent of the new housing supply over the period. By 2025, there should be over 600,000 sets of rental housing in the city, according to the plan released in November last year.

Rents of affordable housing should be below 90 percent of the market price for similar apartments of the same size and quality, and annual increases should be kept to within 5 percent, it said.

Editor: Kim Taylor