Editorial: promoting global cities status: talent attraction and retention in Asia

According to the latest survey from 900 companies globally, PwC (2013) has argued that global mobility continues to grow in volume and is becoming the new normal. At the same time, mobility of talent is fluid. For example, a Chinese company may engage a European team to manage investment in Africa. This new reality refers to the increasing number of highly skilled workers (HSWs) crossing borders. In fact, this new reality has posed serious challenges to many Asian countries. How to attract and retain talent within national territories has become an imperative policy agenda in this region (Mok 2015). This special issue aims at examining how selected Asian countries or cities have responded to the increasingly competitive global market environment for attracting and retaining talents. More specifically, we would critically examine what major types of talents, analysing what major policies and strategies are adopted to grasp the best talents to help develop their countries/cities. Moreover, our contributors also offer their critical reflections of the challenges Asian countries have confronted. In this article, we will first discuss different types of talent, followed by examining what major strategies being adopted by selected Asian countries/cities to attract and retain talent. Meanwhile, major dilemmas confronting the Asian governments will be discussed to highlight how intense the tensions when implementing policies in recruiting and retaining talent from abroad in the selected countries/cities in Asia.