On Thursday's Backchat, we're talking about Hong Kong's labour shortage -- and if throwing more money at talent is the best way to address the problem.

A recent survey by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce has found that more than a third of companies in their study had either downsized, closed or were planning to move all or some of their operations elsewhere due to a lack of staff.

It says Hong Kong should import more workers, but cautions that while offering bigger paycheques is one obvious solution, it may not be the best idea.

The Federation of Trade Unions, meanwhile, is concerned that the government may not be doing enough to retain civil servants – after the Executive Council proposed a 2.87 percent pay rise for senior staff, and a 4.65 percent increase for junior and middle-ranking staff.

In the global battle for talent, is cash the only solution? What else can the government, and local companies do to hire and retain staff? After 9:45am, we will look at what exchange students who've come here to study are taking away from their experience.

9:00am-9:30am: Cheung Wing-ho, Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Electrical & Mechanical Industries Trade Unions
9:00am-9:30am: Leslie Tang, Head of Global Client Solutions (Greater China), Randstad
9:00am-9:45am: Thomas Yuen Wai-kee, Assistant Professor, Department of Ecominics and Finance, Hong Kong Shue Yan University
9:30am-9:45am: George Leung, CEO, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce

9:45am-10:00am: Secondary school student exchanges

9:45am-10:00am: Dr Josephine Jim, Executive Director, AFS
9:45am-10:00am: Noa Navet, student from Spain attending Baptist Lui Ming Choi Secondary School