Budget 2022-23: more than HK$16 billion earmarked to turn Hong Kong into international innovation and technology hub
- Move will help attract more investors and talent to city, industry leaders say
- About HK$10 billion to be set aside for proposed InnoLife healthtech hub in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park at Lok Ma Chau Loop
More than HK$16 billion (US$2.05 billion) will be poured into plans to turn Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology (I&T) hub, a move industry leaders say they believe will help attract more investors and talent to the city.
“The current government has invested over HK$130 billion in I&T development, which has seen results trending up in recent years. I will allocate additional resources in the budget to keep reinforcing the entire value chain and the I&T ecosystem,” he added.
Noting that developing Hong Kong into an international I&T hub was a priority under China’s 14th Five‑Year plan, Chan said a total of HK$16 billion would be allocated to five major tech projects for this financial year.
About HK$10 billion will be earmarked for a proposed InnoLife healthtech hub in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (HKSTPC) at the Lok Ma Chau Loop, near the border with mainland China. The first batch of buildings will be completed by the end of 2024.
“With the 16 laboratories and the eight relevant state key laboratories [in the InnoLife hub] as the basis, we can pool together top‑notch research teams from all over the world and focus our efforts on research and development (R&D) work as well as global research collaboration in the field of life and health sciences,” Chan said.
The number of start‑ups surged from around 1,000 in 2014 to about 4,000 last year, while the amount of venture capital investment rose from HK$1.24 billion to about HK$41.7 billion in the same period. Currently, Hong Kong is Asia’s largest and the world’s second-largest fundraising hub for biotechnology.
