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Deepening Engagement to Enhance Hong Kong's Competitive Advantages

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is ushering in a new wave of scientific innovation and technological transformation. Among them, large language models (LLMs) with hundreds of billions of parameters enable systems to understand the nature and interrelationships of text, images, audio, and video data through massive information. LLMs can also process natural language inputs, generate text, translate languages, and create multimedia content.

The application of large models is not limited to human language; when applied to computer programming languages, LLMs can generate codes. In biology, through the analysis of protein or molecular sequences, deep learning and understanding of the underlying elements can help researchers generate new protein structures or construct various combinations. This has broad applications in medical diagnostics, drug development, new material development, industrial innovation, and green technology. This is why both the technology community and investment circles highly value the development and application of large model technologies.

Tomorrow, the inaugural "International Bio-computing Innovation Summit" will be held in Hong Kong. It will gather international experts, scholars, and industry representatives from the fields of AI and life sciences. They will come together to explore the development opportunities of bio-computing. The application scenarios of bio-computing are vast. Besides accelerating new drug development to improve human health, it can also speed up green technology innovation, contributing to global sustainable development.

AI and life sciences are key areas of Hong Kong's innovation and technology (I&T) development. The combination of the two will create a new, vibrant industry full of opportunities in bio-computing, which is just emerging globally. With solid foundation and strategic planning in both fields, Hong Kong will accelerate innovation and strengthen talent training so as to expedite the exploration of new frontiers and seize the "first-mover advantage".

The Summit is also driven by the investment strategy of the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC). Tomorrow, HKIC will sign a strategic partnership agreement with BioMap, a company specialising in AI LLMs for life sciences. BioMap, as the host of the Summit, will officially announce the establishment of its first global bio-computing innovation hub in Hong Kong. This hub will leverage BioMap's LLMs to support more teams working on bio-computing, thus accelerating research and outcomes translation in fields such as medicine and health, green technology, and industrial innovation, and providing more high-quality employment and internship opportunities.

This will be HKIC's second strategic partnership announced in two weeks. The first partner, SmartMore, focuses on industrial LLMs, while BioMap focuses on bio-computing LLMs. Whether AI is applied vertically in an industry, or on cross-domain platforms, Hong Kong is an ideal place for developing AI. An increasing number of tech companies are choosing to settle in Hong Kong with a view to enhancing their research and development, testing with new application scenarios, speeding up patent translation, and exploring broader markets and international cooperation. The unique advantages of Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" framework allow these companies to better leverage their strengths, thus contributing to a more vibrant I&T ecosystem in the city.

With our efforts over the years, Hong Kong's competitiveness continues to improve. Recently, the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024 published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) ranked Hong Kong fifth among 67 economies worldwide, up two places from last year.

The rankings are based on a comprehensive analysis of 164 hard data criteria and 92 survey criteria based on the business sector's opinion. This year, Hong Kong not only improved in a range of hard data indicators, but our ranking also rose in more than half of the survey-based indicators. For example, Hong Kong's ranking in "Attracting and Retaining Talents" rose 18 places to 14th globally, reflecting the effectiveness of the Government's efforts in nurturing local talents and attracting foreign talents.

Additionally, the rankings of Hong Kong in a number of I&T-related survey-based indicators, such as "Development and Application of Technology", "Scientific Research Legislation", "Intellectual Property Rights" and "Knowledge Transfer" also rose to within the top 10 globally. These are important areas where Hong Kong enjoys advantages in attracting I&T companies to set up here. In future, we will continue to strengthen our work in these areas to support the solid momentum of Hong Kong's I&T development.

A sound financial system and financing platform are also crucial components of an economy's competitiveness, by enabling enterprises with potential to accelerate growth and enhancing the overall economic vitality. In this year's Yearbook, Hong Kong ranks fourth overall in "Finance". Among the sub-indicators, our stock market capitalisation is about ten times of our GDP, making us the global leader in this indicator. This signifies the role of our professional financial services in serving the financing needs of Mainland and global companies. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange's "Chapter 18C" listing regime for specialist technology companies recently welcomed the listing of the first hard-tech company. This has reflected our commitment to leveraging Hong Kong's financial markets to support innovation.

Our continuous I&T efforts are gradually bearing fruit, and our competitive advantages in the area are increasingly apparent thanks to the effective promotion by the current-term Government. As more technology companies in fields such as AI and biotechnology establish their presence in Hong Kong, more opportunities for local R&D and talent growth will be created. This will contribute to a more vibrant local I&T ecosystem, lending support to Hong Kong in accelerating the development of new quality productive forces and promoting high-quality development.

June 23, 2024