Former executive councillor Franklin Lam on Sunday said the administration needs to do more to retain talent, calling the net outflow of 60,000 Hong Kong residents a "horrible number".

His comments came days after Hong Kong again recorded a drop in population last year, with tens of thousands of residents having left the city.

But Lam expressed confidence that the SAR will be able to lure talent back with the lifting of Covid curbs both here and on the mainland.

"I will expect more talent from all around the world really cascading into Hong Kong, once people understand we have this once-in-a-century opportunity because China has exited the Covid shutdown," he told reporters after attending a radio programme.

"As the year progresses, we will see how the… savings of Chinese consumers over the last three years are starting to be emptied out. So that very big [rush] of money into Hong Kong in particular, will be a sight for sore eyes."

He also said it's unnecessary for the government to dish out another round of consumption vouchers, stressing that Hong Kong’s economy is now picking up after battling the pandemic for three years.

"We should preserve the money we have in the government, rather than distributing for consumption boosting as a short-term stimulus measure. So we shouldn't be really using the old mantra as if we're still a very sick patient. No, this patient is already out of hospital," he said.

Lam, who's the founder of the policy research think tank HKGolden50, said the government could make better use of its fiscal reserves such as by building more universities and infrastructure.