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I&T: a new engine to power Hong Kong’s economic development

A gist of the blog:

On last Friday, I attended the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2017 presentation ceremony, an annual mega event for the IT sector. This year marks the 11th edition of the ICT Awards. Steered by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the ICT Awards have been widely supported by the collaborative efforts of the industry and academia. The past winners have earned further recognition in regional and international contests and demonstrated the excellence and creativity among Hong Kong’s ICT talents. Detailed information of the winners and the eight award categories is available on the Hong Kong ICT Awards website (www.hkictawards.hk/index_e.php).

The evening also marked the opening of International IT Fest 2017 (www.itfest.hk), which will bring together over 30 ICT events in the coming three weeks to showcase Hong Kong's achievements and the latest developments in ICT. A wide range of competitions, seminars, pitching events and exhibitions, covering the areas of FinTech, e-Commerce, Smart city, Big data, startups, information security and more, will be held for industry and public participation.

The Government has been actively working to promote development of I&T in Hong Kong. Various measures, amounting to a total of $18 billion, have been launched since the establishment of the Innovation and Technology Bureau in November 2015. In my Budget for 2017-18, I have also reserved $10 billion for supporting I&T development in Hong Kong. I believe that with a conducive ecosystem and suitable policies, I&T can be developed into a new engine to power the sustainable and diversified economic development of Hong Kong.

April 9, 2017