2022-10-07

Further integration urged to tap GBA’s inno-tech potential

Yang Han

Further integration urged to tap GBA’s inno-tech potential

Through deepened integration, Hong Kong has the potential to play a role in innovation and technology in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, forum attendees heard on Thursday.

“The Hong Kong government has invested more than HK$150 billion (US$19.1 billion) in innovation and technology. This is, to me, a golden age for the I&T of Hong Kong,” said Sunny Chai, chairman of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp.

The GBA comprises nine cities in Guangdong province plus the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. It has a total population of more than 86 million with a combined GDP of nearly US$1.67 trillion.

As an integral part of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong will have a role to play, said Chai, speaking at a panel session on the key roles played by innovation and technology in Hong Kong at the Greater Bay Area Conference.

Co-organized by China Daily and the Hong Kong Coalition, the event was held under the theme “GBA: Integration Writes a New Chapter”.

A ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of China Daily Hong Kong Edition was also held during the conference.

Recalling the visit by President Xi Jinping to the Hong Kong Science Park on June 30, Chai said, quoting Xi’s speech, that Hong Kong has a good foundation and potential for innovation and technology.

Today, the science park has more than 1,100 tech companies, Chai said. About 18,000 people work in the park, with 11,000 of them focusing on research and development. That number comprises one-fifth to one-fourth of the total R&D workforce in Hong Kong.

Duncan Chiu, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council for the Technology and Innovation Constituency, said 80 percent of the city’s unicorns, or startups with a valuation of over US$1 billion, grow their business in the Chinese mainland market, which makes it important to allow easier access for Hong Kong companies to enter the mainland market while attracting more global talent.

Noting that only about 40 percent of unicorns are formed by people from universities to commercialize their research, Chiu said there is also a need to improve the ratio, and Hong Kong can achieve that since the city’s development has been emphasized in the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

“We have to focus on a certain particular vertical that Hong Kong has the edge that we can provide winning solutions, we can provide companies so they can build successful startups,” said Chiu, adding that more farsighted policies and long-term investment are needed.

Chiu said the four areas of focuses are fintech, life science and health-related tech, advanced manufacturing, and data economy.

Stressing the importance of integration, Raymond Yip, chief liaison officer of the Guangzhou Nansha Service Centre in Hong Kong, said it is time to look at the concept of “Hong Kong plus”.

“Hong Kong has to find the resources in terms of area, talent and also many other opportunities and markets,” Yip said.

Under a “Hong Kong plus” model, all the resources and market in the Greater Bay Area can be put together, which will be much bigger, Yip said. “We should have a cross-border integration in all fronts,” he said.

Yip said the Nansha district also has huge strength in innovation and technology as it is the third-largest shipbuilding center in China and is home to one of the largest and first fully automated port in southern China.

Tsui Lap-Chee, founding member and president of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, moderated the session.

Attending the conference on-site, Igor Sagitov, consul general of the Russian Federation in Hong Kong and Macao, said technology is a good topic for the development of Hong Kong and for it to get a new advantage as a city and a part of the Greater Bay Area.

“There are many new ideas (regarding) how to develop science and technology here in the city, and I hope that scientists and students and professors will implement all these ideas, and in the near future, Hong Kong can become a real advanced technological center in the Greater Bay Area,” Sagitov said.

Noting innovation and technology are one of the most important driving engines behind Israel’s economic success, Amir Lati, consul general of Israel in Hong Kong, said there is also an area for his country to cooperate with Hong Kong.

Lati said Israel and the Chinese mainland have already formed a joint innovation committee and it can cooperate with Hong Kong as well in various fields, such as fintech and healthcare.

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