Skyscrapers border a lush green landscape in Shenzhen's central business district. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Shenzhen and Guangzhou ranked third and fourth respectively among Chinese mainland cities in attracting talent, following Beijing and Shanghai, according to a report released on Tuesday by online recruitment platform Zhaopin and economic research team Zeping Hongguan.

The two largest cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area both saw the greatest inflow of talent come from the other, with 10.8 percent of the talent inflow of Shenzhen coming from Guangzhou, and 9.8 percent of that of Guangzhou coming from Shenzhen, the report said.

Shenzhen’s attraction to professionals has been growing steadily over the past few years, thanks to its rapid economic growth and high level of innovation capacity. The city accounted for 1.4 percent of the country’s net talent inflow in 2021, up from 0.1 percent in 2017

Shenzhen’s attraction to professionals has been growing steadily over the past few years, thanks to its rapid economic growth and high level of innovation capacity. The city accounted for 1.4 percent of the country’s net talent inflow in 2021, up from 0.1 percent in 2017.

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Among various sectors, talent in information technology, communications, electronics and internet saw the most active flow in Shenzhen, with 30.7 percent of inflow and 29 percent of outflow coming from the sector, the report said.

Guangzhou’s appeal to talent has also been rising, with its percentage of the country’s net talent inflow increasing from 0.5 percent in 2017 to 1 percent in 2021. The reasons behind the trend include the city’s robust economic development and relatively low cost of living compared with other mainland first-tier cities, the report said.

A number of outstanding enterprises also contributed to the two bay area cities’ growing competitiveness in attracting talent.

According to the recently published Forbes Global 2000, which ranks the world’s largest publicly traded companies, 25 companies in Shenzhen and 11 in Guangzhou made the list.

Three Shenzhen companies ranked among the top 30 globally — insurance behemoth Ping An Group, commercial lender China Merchants Bank, and internet giant Tencent, occupying the 17th, 24th and 28th spots respectively.

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Other cities in the Bay Area are catching up. While Foshan has four listed companies on the Forbes list, Zhuhai has two, while Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhongshan have one each.

sally@chinadailyhk.com