Hong Kong Science and Technology Park gives tech tenants a bonanza with US$893 million worth of measures
- Companies will be granted three-month rent exemptions with the expectation the savings will be diverted into research and development
- HKSTP aims to increase the number of start-up tenants from 270 to 500 over the next five years
Nearly HK$7 billion (US$893 million) worth of fresh measures ranging from rent exemptions to expanded subsidies will be up for grabs for hundreds of current and future tenants at Hong Kong’s innovation and technology hub, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP), in the city’s latest effort to bolster its international standing in technology.
As part of the government’s HK$10 billion funding to shore up the park’s 709 tenants and upgrade its infrastructure, the measures would help tenants up their game in innovation and technology development and further improve the ecosystem, the HKSTP Corporation’s CEO Albert Wong Hak-keung said on Friday.
The sweeteners could potentially benefit about 500 start-ups in the next five years as the park seeks to increase the number from about 270 now, he said.
“If a company doesn’t have half of its staff engaged in research and development, we won’t welcome them to settle at the Park,” Wong said apologetically. “Hong Kong has so far paid the greatest effort in strengthening IT development. It will be competing and cooperating with Shenzhen.”
He promised to constantly review the effectiveness of the measures.
