Hong Kong Should Develop New Quality Productive Forces Tailored to Local Conditions
Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, stressed that Hong Kong can leverage its unique strengths to attract more new quality enterprises to establish themselves in the city and develop new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions to fully capitalize on more new opportunities.
The HKSAR Government is committed to using technological innovation to drive industrial innovation and diversified development. Sun cited the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint, which stated to focus on supporting the development of technology industries with strategic significance and in which Hong Kong enjoys clear advantages, and to advance Hong Kong’s “new industrialization”, thus expediting the formation of “new quality productive forces”.
Multiple advantages to attract new quality enterprises to establish in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of the country’s most internationalized cities. It also has unparalleled unique advantages under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework as a node of the “Belt and Road” Initiative and a key member of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Sun said that these advantages are conducive to attracting new quality enterprises from the Mainland to establish themselves in Hong Kong. These enterprises can “go global” through Hong Kong and leverage the city’s first-class professional services to further expand their business.
Sun gave the following example: “A leading driverless technology company in the Mainland, using Hong Kong’s application scenarios as model cases, successfully expanded its business overseas and in the Mainland. This shows that Hong Kong can help Mainland enterprises connect with international innovation resources and seek overseas business opportunities.” Indeed, Hong Kong’s efforts to attract new quality enterprises from the Mainland have gradually paid off in recent years. The HKSAR Government will continue to accelerate the expansion of the local I&T ecosystem and drive new industrialization by attracting I&T enterprises with cutting-edge and high-research capabilities and technologies.
Allocate more resources to strengthen I&T capabilities
Regarding the development of new industrialization, Sun said that the HKSAR Government has implemented various measures to attract Mainland enterprises with strategic significance to establish themselves in Hong Kong. They include the “New Industrialization Acceleration Scheme”, which supports enterprises in strategic emerging industries to set up new smart production facilities in Hong Kong. “Several enterprises have applied since the launch of the scheme over two months ago, reflecting the full confidence of enterprises in establishing themselves and developing production facilities in Hong Kong.”
Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government will strive to strengthen Hong Kong’s research and development capabilities. Sun highlighted that Hong Kong boasts five of the world’s top 100 universities and possesses strong original innovation capabilities. He stressed that the HKSAR Government is continuously increasing its outlay in I&T. According to data released by the Census and Statistics Department at the end of last year, Hong Kong’s total local R&D expenditure has reached approximately HKD 33 billion, representing about 1.11% of the local GDP.
Encourage multi-party collaboration to promote industrial development
Sun acknowledged that Hong Kong faces numerous challenges in attracting more new quality enterprises, including land, talents at various levels and funding issues, and understands that addressing these issues requires substantial capital investment. Therefore, the authorities will encourage more involvement from private capital by advocating efficient collaboration among the Government and the industry, academia, research and investment sectors. “Based on the principle of promoting industrial development, we have set up a HKD10 billion “I&T Industry-Oriented Fund” as a fund-of-funds to channel more market capital to invest in specified emerging and future industries of strategic importance. The goal is to systematically build and expand Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem and industrial chain.”
Meanwhile, the authorities encourage relevant stakeholders to establish the “Hong Kong New Industrialization Development Alliance” to unite talents and resources from various sectors and establish a cooperation platform. This initiative aims to create financing opportunities, assist newly-listed companies in Hong Kong in carrying out I&T collaboration with local universities, and foster cooperation between traditional and emerging industries. Sun expressed his hope that this will effectively integrate the forces of all parties to further take forward the development of new industrialization and stimulate Hong Kong’s new quality productive forces.
Comprehensive Support for Entrepreneurs
New in Hong Kong
Xu Li, Co-founder and CEO of SenseTime, started the New Quality Entrepreneur Union in 2024 to assist more newly established companies to secure a presence in Hong Kong and grow their business. A federation of enterprises from many different sectors, the Union aspires to promote the development of new quality productive forces in Hong Kong.
Xu points out that the New Quality Entrepreneur Union helps and supports newcomer entrepreneurs to integrate into Hong Kong and take part in driving its success, while harnessing the capabilities of more top-notch professionals to transform Hong Kong into a leading talent hub.
Category A talents seeking
business opportunities in Hong Kong
According to Jesse Shang, Secretary General of the New Quality Entrepreneur Union, the HKSAR Government’s Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) has attracted thousands of new talent to Hong Kong since its inception. Official statistics show that nearly a quarter of these talents are Category A applicants who meet the annual income threshold of HKD 2,500,000. “Many Category A talents are entrepreneurs or potential business starters who can provide important impetus to promote new quality productive forces in Hong Kong.”
Shang adds that Category A entrepreneurs prioritize technical development, product-based thinking and data-driven ideas which depart quite significantly from traditional topics generally discussed in the business community. It was this niche that prompted the idea of founding a new business chamber to provide an important platform to new entrepreneurs engaging in emerging industries, a hub where they can find mutual support and communication channels.
Entrepreneurship Valley in Central offers co-working spaces
As Shang reveals, the Union has set up Entrepreneurship Valley in Central, offering co-working spaces to help new businesses make their bold first step in Hong Kong. Newcomers can take advantage of a wide range of support measures and services from Entrepreneurship Valley.
Shang says the number of companies establishing foothold in Entrepreneurship Valley has seen steady increase, growing from just over 20 companies in August upon opening to more than 30 today. Motivated by the awareness that Hong Kong is an international financial center and capital market, these newcomers to Hong Kong often consider the possibility of raising funds through public listing or bond issuance, so as to build bridgeheads for their overseas headquarters over time.
Networking events and venture capital fund
He continues to say the Union plans to use the entire Entrepreneurship Valley floor as co-working offices. There will also be public areas for various events and client meetings. “The Union was founded only about six months ago but we have already organized a host of activities. We have scheduled a meeting with HKEX Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Chan in the near future and we expect top management teams from several companies that are or in the process of being listed in Hong Kong to join us.”
“Going forward, the New Quality Entrepreneur Union hopes to set up a venture capital fund to support newcomers with CEO or senior management background. The aim is to create synergy with Hong Kong’s research deliverables to unleash the full potential of their products.” He adds that efforts will be made to form an investment ecosystem to help entrepreneurs accelerate the process of incubating and commercializing products and broaden market exposure.
