A Hong Kong government official said the city has stressed on developing its education services, promoting the internationalization of its education sector, and providing an ideal environment to attract quality students, including those from overseas, the city's government said in a statement on Sunday.

Human capital was Hong Kong's most important asset, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Canada Maureen Siu said at a seminar titled "Hong Kong 2010 -- the New Legal Landscape and Economy", recently held in Toronto.

"We are pleased that Hong Kong has many top quality universities and they have produced many talents throughout the years... Hong Kong would not have been where we are today without the contribution of our universities," she said.

"Not only do we groom our local youngsters, Hong Kong also welcomes talents from around the world. For that, we have set up a 1-billion-HK dollars (US$129 million) Government Scholarship fund, which is also available to non-local students who wish to come to Hong Kong to study," she said.

"There is also a PhD Fellowship Scheme that offers generous stipends for students from around the world. These are all parts of our efforts to develop Hong Kong into an educational hub in Asia," Siu added.