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Striving to Open up New Horizons on Shifting Landscape

Yesterday, I attended a seminar organised by Hong Kong News-Expo, where I had the opportunity to exchange ideas with participants on Hong Kong’s economy and the development of innovation and technology (I&T). Among the topics discussed was the substance and practice of “new quality productive forces”, and the importance of accelerating its development. In recent years, Hong Kong has been making significant strides to develop I&T, promote research and development (R&D) collaboration among local universities, research institutions and innovation platforms. Apart from providing staunch policy support, we have put in a significant amount of resources in I&T, and strengthened efforts to incentivise the transformation of R&D outcomes. We are seeing initial results on attracting top-notch I&T enterprises and nurturing local start-ups, as well as promoting “new industrialisation” and facilitating the digital transformation of traditional industries. We are accelerating the developments in these areas, so that innovation-driven new products and services will become a new driving force behind economic growth and the development of the capital markets.

In the past week, the performance of tech stocks in the Hong Kong stock market improved, resulting in a five-day consecutive rise in the Hang Seng Index by a cumulative 8.8%, marking the best week in 13 years. The average daily turnover last week exceeded HK$125 billion, with single-day turnover on Friday reaching close to HK$160 billion. The market was optimistic about the new opportunities and business growth potential in the I&T sector and AI business. Moreover, the five new measures announced earlier by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, including the expansion and enrichment of mutual market access, and encouraging leading Mainland enterprises to list in Hong Kong, etc., triggered the influx of funds that had longed waited for opportunities. This created a positive atmosphere in the market.

By the way, the enhanced “Wealth Management Connect 2.0”, launched at the end of February, has made good progress. In March, the number of individual investors participating in the scheme increased by more than 24 000; the amount of funds involved in cross-boundary remittances increased by nearly eightfold compared to February, surpassing RMB 13.1 billion. This monthly figure is equivalent to almost half of the cumulative amount of cross-boundary fund remittances since the launch of the Wealth Management Connect in September 2021!

Delivering a speech at the Elevator Pitch Competition 2024 last week.

Technological innovation continues to drive new business forms and models, as well as new industries. Apart from creating new growth momentum for the real economy, it also introduces new themes to the capital market. From AI, big data and biomedical technology, to new energy, new materials, and more, companies can leverage leading core technologies and lead innovative business transformation. By addressing pain points and creating value-adding products or services, they can gain a competitive edge and achieve exponential business growth, delivering significant returns to investors.

It is important to actively identify such enterprises, and provide them with conditions favourable to growth, avenues of development, and access to finance. It is also essential to build a comprehensive I&T ecosystem that gathers upstream, midstream and downstream industries. These are the critical path for Hong Kong to develop “new quality productive forces” according to local conditions.

The number of start-ups in Hong Kong exceeded 4,200 last year, representing an increase of more than 30% compared to four years ago. The founders of around a quarter of them are from outside Hong Kong. In the past year, we have successfully attracted around 50 strategic I&T enterprises to establish or expand their presence in Hong Kong. Recently, the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, located in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, also signed co-operation memoranda with some 60 partners, marking a significant milestone as the Park approaches its operational phase.

Attending the Elevator Pitch Competition 2024 and in a group photo with other guests and participants.

Recently, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation organised the “Elevator Pitch Competition 2024”, an annual signature event that opens Hong Kong’s doors and beckons to promising start-ups from around the world. This year’s competition was the biggest ever in scale, attracting over 600 teams from more than 40 economies to participate in the event.

The winning companies are all dedicated to developing technologies that have been under the global spotlight in recent years. For example, the overall champion of the competition, tozero GmbH, is a start-up from Munich, Germany. It specialises in lithium-ion battery recycling technology that recovers their critical materials in a sustainable and cost-effective manner, thus promoting a circular economy and contributing to the green future.

The winning teams in the three industry categories also include Roboticplus.AI, an advanced intelligent robotic system company from the Mainland. By specialising in core technologies such as robotic control, algorithms and human-machine interaction, it seeks to better apply robotic systems in the manufacturing industry. Another award-winning company, BizBaz, focuses on AI and data analytics, aiming to provide crucial information to businesses and investors to make informed decisions.

In a photo with the champion of the competition, the founder of tozero GmbH, a start-up from Munich, Germany.

The founders of these winners agree that Hong Kong not only helps start-ups develop their ideas into full-fledged business solutions, but also provides them with an important platform to showcase their achievements to both the Mainland and overseas markets. Hong Kong is also the right place for them to recruit talent, creating opportunities for their expansion into the Greater Bay Area, the Mainland and even the entire Asian market.

This week, the Government will release the advance estimates on the gross domestic product for the first quarter. The economic growth rate is expected to be within the forecast range for the full-year, indicating that the Hong Kong economy will register moderate growth for the fifth consecutive quarter. While striving to explore new sources of economic growth, we must also continuously strengthen traditional economic sectors. Starting from this Wednesday, the Labour Day Golden Week on the Mainland will begin. It is expected that during this period, there will be over 800,000 visitors coming to Hong Kong. On 1 May, we will also stage a pyrotechnic show at the East Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, providing a diverse range of programmes for tourists and residents and boosting the festive atmosphere. In the coming months, there will be a series of exciting events, including the Pop Culture Festival, the Bun Carnival to be held in Cheung Chau, and Vinexpo Asia, a prestigious wine and spirits event held at the end of May. We will continue to make full efforts in organising mega events under different themes, creating more appealing new experiences to generate more sales and consumption opportunities. By attracting more residents, business travellers and tourists to spend in Hong Kong, we will inject energy into the local economy.

April 28, 2024