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Leveraging Hong Kong's Strengths to Contribute to the National Needs

This year marks the beginning of the national 15th Five-Year Plan. As the most significant guiding framework for the nation's socio-economic development over the next five years, the Plan has drawn considerable attention both domestically and internationally, with many seeking to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the country's future development directions and the opportunities it brings. The Plan also charts a clear course for Hong Kong to speed up and scale up its development in the future. Last week, together with Mr Michael Wong, Deputy Financial Secretary, Secretaries from five bureaux, and colleagues from the civil service, I engaged in an interactive exchange session with legislators in the Legislative Council's Ante Chamber on proactively aligning with the Plan. We all agreed that Hong Kong possesses unique strengths in various areas such as finance, trade, innovation and technology (I&T), etc. and that many emerging fields and new dimensions are rich with opportunities.

In fact, institutions and organisations across different sectors have shown keen interest in how Hong Kong can better seize the opportunities arising from the 15th Five-Year Plan. They have been organising different forums and seminars, exploring ways to align with and contribute to the national development strategies more proactively while seeking broader development prospects for their respective industries.

Engaging in an interactive exchange session with legislators in the Legislative Council's Ante Chamber last week on proactively aligning with the 15th Five-Year Plan.

Recently, I attended a forum organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) under the theme "Bridging Opportunities with the 15th Five-Year Plan". The event brought together over 500 representatives from the Government, the business community, and various sectors both on-site and online. It was also livestreamed on Mainland platforms and received an enthusiastic response. Both local and overseas industry representatives expressed interest in leveraging Hong Kong as a springboard to identify partners for collaboration and to promote industry-wide cooperation—jointly advancing the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation.

At the forum, the sharing by several I&T enterprises which recently established a presence in Hong Kong was particularly significant. A representative of a Mainland I&T enterprise, introduced to Hong Kong through the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), noted that beyond convenient fundraising and financing and talent aggregation, Hong Kong's recent vigorous efforts to develop a smart city were equally crucial. These efforts have provided application scenarios that align with international rules for their technologies, allowing them to adapt regulations and standards, make technical adjustments, and conduct market promotion in Hong Kong—paving the way for overseas expansion.

In addition, another representative from a microelectronics enterprise with a presence in Hong Kong shared that they had successfully applied for funding under the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme to establish a new production line in the city. This line focuses on the production and verification of semiconductor equipment, with a total investment amount exceeding HK$800 million. In addition to introducing cutting-edge technologies and nurturing talent, these production lines help attract upstream and downstream supply chain partners to develop in Hong Kong—contributing to the creation of a relevant industrial ecosystem and speeding up industry development.

Speaking at HKPC's ForeSight 2026 last week.

Attending HKPC's ForeSight 2026 and taking a group photo with other guests at the event.

Under the leadership of the HKSAR Government, different departments and public organisations are actively working in close partnership, combining efforts to accelerate the cultivation of Hong Kong's new quality productive forces. Whether it is supporting Mainland I&T enterprises to "go global", attracting them to establish R&D centres in Hong Kong, or fostering the clustering of target enterprises in the city, the efforts are yielding increasingly evident results.

HKPC is one such example. As a member of the HKSAR Government's "Mainland Enterprises Going Global Taskforce," HKPC operates "The Cradle – Going Global Service Centre" (The Cradle), which focuses on offering a wide range of funding support and complementary services to enterprises pursuing international expansion. These include services in smart manufacturing, technical research and assessment, international standards and testing, professional services, as well as training and study mission, etc. supporting enterprises in entering global markets more efficiently. Since its establishment in April last year, The Cradle has received indication of interest from over 350 enterprises, with more than 100 projects progressing to the stage of concrete follow-up. Including projects already supported by HKPC prior to The Cradle's formation, the cumulative project total now exceeds 450.

To further drive the clustering of I&T enterprises, we are stepping up the efforts to attract enterprises to set up in Hong Kong. In recent years, the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, OASES, Invest Hong Kong, etc. have been working hard in this regard. For example, over the past three years, OASES has attracted more than 100 enterprises to establish a presence in Hong Kong, with expected total investment amount exceeding HK$60 billion, creation of 22,000 R&D or management positions, and occupancy of 1.85 million square feet of space.

In advancing industrial development, we should also leverage Hong Kong's strengths as an international financial centre—empowering industries to grow through financial support. Hong Kong's full-chain capabilities in fundraising and financing as well as financial services enable the city to meet the needs of I&T enterprises at different development stages. Last year, Hong Kong's IPO market ranked first globally: 119 companies were listed and raised over HK$280 billion, with sectors such as information technology, biotechnology, new energy, and advanced industry accounting for approximately 70% of the funds raised. The Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) has played a strategic role in channeling patient capital into smaller, early-stage, long-term and hard and core technology projects. To date, the HKIC has invested in more than 170 projects, with each dollar invested attracting over six dollars of long-term capital in the market.

Through the concerted efforts of all sectors over the past few years, Hong Kong's I&T development has been gaining stronger momentum. We will fully seize the opportunities presented by the 15th Five-Year Plan, taking a more proactive approach to integrating into and contributing to the overall national development, promoting the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation, further strengthening the link between technology and industry, and driving our economy forward towards higher quality, greater value-added, and enhanced diversification.

February 8, 2026