HONG KONG – The Hong Kong government has launched an internship scheme offering more than 150 positions for post-secondary students at over 30 fintech companies in the city and three mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The GBA Fintech Two-way Internship Scheme for Post-secondary Students will enable students to gain first-hand experience of the operation of fintech companies and fintech ecosystems in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, said Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu.

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An initiative announced in the 2023-24 Budget, the program “will equip them early with knowledge in pursuing a career in fintech, thereby enlarging the local fintech talent pool”, he said.

Successful applicants will be granted two-month internships, which may be extended by up to six months, along with a monthly subsidy of HK$12,000 or RMB10,500

The 150 internship positions are with virtual banks, virtual insurers, and companies engaged in regtech, wealthtech, credittech and payment tech, in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai.

Full-time students studying fintech-related subjects at post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong and Bay Area cities on the mainland are eligible to apply for positions.

This includes higher diploma and associate degree students, undergraduates, master’s degree students and postgraduates, the government said in a statement.

Internship positions in Hong Kong will be offered to mainland students provided they hold valid permits to enter Hong Kong.

Internship positions on the mainland meanwhile will accept applications from Hong Kong students studying either in Hong Kong or Bay Area cities on the mainland.

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Successful applicants will be granted two-month internships, which may be extended by up to six months, along with a monthly subsidy of HK$12,000 or RMB10,500, added the statement.

The first internships are expected to begin by the end of this year at the earliest. The winter internship scheme is open for applications from today until November 30.