US visa squeeze a drain on Silicon Valley talent

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Silicon Valley faces increasing competition from other world technology hubs that may offer easier access to global talent given a tougher U.S. immigration policy, a senior analyst said on Monday.

Paul Saffo, an analyst at forecast group Institute for the Future, said Silicon Valley is losing some technology dollars because the lure of investing in China and India is proving too strong for many U.S. venture capitalists.

At the same time, Singapore is rolling out the welcome mat for foreign entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers, Saffo said at the Reuters Venture Capital summit here.

"They're making a huge bet on biotechnology," Saffo said in an interview with Reuters Television, referring to Singapore.

"It is not just money. It is not just real estate, but it's also a commitment to bring in the so-called 'elephants,' the best and the brightest from all around to world, to lead the research institutes to help get this thing going," Saffo said. "Singapore is looking 20 years into the future."

Foreign-born "brain power" was indispensable for Silicon Valley's rise, Saffo said. He added that crimping the supply by cutting U.S. visas for technology workers was leaving the area at a disadvantage to its aspiring rivals.

U.S. immigration policy is "disastrous" and threatens to cost Silicon Valley heavily, he said.

In coming years, Saffo predicted, "city states" rather than "nation states" would become the key agents battling for talent and funds, with Silicon Valley competing against Shanghai rather than the United States taking on China.