BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- More students from ethnic groups in Hong Kong are opting for higher education programs at mainland universities, the China Daily reported Tuesday.

The small but developing trend is likely to grow as these multilingual students find their services in demand in countries taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative, according to the report.

Some of the interviewed applicants, who or whose families were originally from countries like Pakistan and India, cited fierce competition for enrollment at Hong Kong universities, their personal interest in Chinese and confidence about career opportunities brought by the mainland's development as reasons behind their decisions to pursue higher education in mainland cities.

Scholarships provided by both the central and Hong Kong governments also are believed to have added to the appeal of mainland universities, the newspaper noted.

However, Gong Wan, director of the China Education Exchange (Hong Kong) Center, said more non-Chinese Hong Kong students are pursuing higher education on the mainland, but he believed that in the short term there will not be a dramatic rise in the number.