fiftypercentn1,
In countries where most of the recruits come from, Australia, NZ, Sth Africa, Canada, you can easily have up to 5000 hrs and have little chance of ever moving up from a turbo prop or even light twin.
IMHO that's why these experienced pilots still come looking for the heavy metal (and lets not forget more pay) job in HKG.
However, in the near future, with airlines such as Virgin Blue and Jetstar expanding as quickly as they are, I can see the potential candidate numbers reducing. I know if I had a job in OZ flying with 1 of those companies, I doubt I would have come to HKG. I might even go back sooner than I had anticipated.