Hong Kong’s higher education attracts a rising wave of Vietnamese students.
By Spring Cam
University student Bui Ngoc Tram, who first thought she would be a minority on a Hong Kong university campus, is surprised to find that there is a rapidly growing community of Vietnamese students pursuing tertiary education in Hong Kong.
“Before coming here, I only contacted one or two seniors. I did not expect that there were nearly 50 other students in my batch studying in Hong Kong. I meet at least 10 Vietnamese students every day and four are doing the same major as mine,” the global economics and finance major student says.
She believes studying in Hong Kong can help her develop a career in the global business industry.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s partnership with the Fung Global Institute offers business students like her connections with people working in several multinational corporations.
“Last semester, a guest lecture by a former HSBC economist walked us through how US-China trade tensions are affecting Vietnam’s export sector. It is really helpful as a real-time analysis, rather than textbook theory,” the year two student says.
Through CUHK’s Economics Society, Bui has also attended gatherings where she met analysts from Goldman Sachs and BlackRock and exchanged contacts with them to stay connected for mentorship and future career opportunities.
“I would not have such opportunities if I studied in Vietnam, since the universities’ business network for students in our country is still limited and only reserved for a few top students,” Bui says.
“I am applying for summer internships now. I hope that I can get into HSBC or a regional bank. I want to earn as much as possible to have a high-quality and fulfilling life. My global career may start here, Hong Kong, then maybe reach Singapore or London,” she adds.
Bui shares that working for a big corporation such as HSBC has always been her dream, especially in a global financial and business hub like Hong Kong.
“The salary in Hong Kong is 10 times higher than in my home country. If needed, I will take on two or three more jobs to afford living here,” she says.
The 20-year-old student is one of about 300 Vietnamese students studying at universities in Hong Kong in the school year of 2025-2026, according to the Vietnamese Students Association in Hong Kong. The number has risen significantly from fewer than 30 in 2022 to 302 in 2025.
The growth comes after the Hong Kong government doubled the admission quota for non-local students from 20 per cent to 40 per cent at publicly funded universities starting the school year of 2024 and 2025, a policy measure that was announced in the Hong Kong 2023 Policy Address.
Students mainly are recruited from Belt and Road countries, including Vietnam and mainland China.
The Hong Kong government also promotes the HKSAR Government’s Belt and Road Scholarship, which covers full tuition for outstanding students from partner regions. The government has injected HKD $1 billion (US $127.95 million) into the Government Scholarship Fund to increase the quota of the Belt and Road Scholarship by 50 per cent from the 2024/25 academic year.
At CUHK, scholarships for Vietnamese undergraduates have jumped from 30 in 2022 to nearly 110 in 2025, while the number of Vietnamese students studying at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) increased from six in 2023 to 19 in the 2025-2026 academic year.
Other public universities in Hong Kong have also seen significant growth in the number of Vietnamese students. There are 31 Vietnamese undergraduates at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, while the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) also recorded a notable increase from 1 in the 2022-2023 school year to 17 in the academic year of 2025-2026.
The Vietnamese student community in Hong Kong has formed its own network, hosting events such as the annual Tết (Lunar New Year) celebrations, Vietnam National Day, cultural exchange fairs, welcome party for freshmen, ASEAN-Vietnam Students Meetup, and career networking meetings with Vietnamese professionals working in Hong Kong’s finance and tech sectors.
Nguyen Duc Manh is another Vietnamese student studying logistics in Hong Kong. The PolyU student is attracted by Hong Kong’s global logistics industry.
“Hong Kong is a renowned logistics hub for goods transshipment and an international finance centre. So, studying here provides a comprehensive, front-row perspective on how this industry operates, which is very much related to my study,” he says.
Nguyen shares that the language barrier is not the biggest obstacle, even for those who do not speak Cantonese.
“Hong Kong people that I have met up to now are very open-minded and progressive. Even when I meet someone like the janitors or security guards who cannot speak English, they still greet me with hospitality and communicate with me by smiles and gestures,” he says.
On 27 August 2025, a few days after his arrival, Nguyen joined the 80th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day hosted by the Vietnam Consulate General in Hong Kong, as a student helper alongside other Vietnamese students from eight publicly-funded universities.
“I arrived in Hong Kong not knowing anyone in my university. I thought I would have to figure everything out on my own. I met dozens of Vietnamese students from different universities at the event. We have shared the same feelings of experiencing language barriers, adapting to a different education system, and missing home. I have friends I can call for help, or just to grab a coffee and speak Vietnamese with,” he says.
Nguyen Vu Dan Phuong, a student from HKU, also shares that she chose to study in Hong Kong as she wants to stay and work in the city after graduation.
“The (Hong Kong) Monetary Authority just launched an AI roadmap for banks. With AI adoption in Hong Kong banking jumping from 59 per cent to 75 per cent in three years, employers are now looking for graduates who can do coding and commercials at the same time,” she says.
The Business Analytics student finds public service in the city outstanding, citing the MTR and government services as examples.
“But housing cost here is an issue that I need to think about whether I should stay to work or return home after graduation,” she says.
Professor Victor Lau Kwok-chi of the Faculty of Education at CUHK says that students may have overestimated the living expenses in Hong Kong.
“Students from the top universities can easily gain a starting salary of HKD $20,000 (US $2,560) a month. That is enough to cover all the fees and save for future housing. The 10 to 15 per cent tax of Hong Kong is comparatively low, especially when you compare with Western countries where the taxes could rise up to 40-50 per cent,” he says.
Lau also notes that the rise in international students is less about economic interest and more about politics. The Hong Kong government, he says, aims to strengthen ties with other countries, especially close neighbours in Asia.
“Almost all Asian students receive full-tuition scholarships funded by the government, so there is no economic profit here. The biggest goal might be internationalisation,” he says.
He thinks this trend may not last.
“About 40 per cent of non-local students is already too high. Scholarships are expected to be reduced in the coming years after they have gained enough global attraction. After all, education is a kind of industry,” he says.
Edited by Alexa Lau
Sub-edited by Isa He
