An official from the Guangdong Provincial Human Recourses Administration said on Monday that the province welcomes young people from Hong Kong to work.

"You are welcome to serve in all positions in the Pearl River Delta, including in public service," said Deputy Director Yang Shaosen to a 100-member youth delegation from Hong Kong.

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

"The visit provides 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 business policy with the 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.

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 mainland is a nice choice," he said.

Raymond Ip, a third-year student of business studies, from the City University of Hong Kong, 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 Labor and Social Security Administration.

(China Daily June 29, 2004)