Sun Dong: Hong Kong's achievements in innovation and technology development are positive and accelerating towards becoming an international innovation and technology center.

On February 24th, Professor Sun Dong, the Secretary for Innovation and Technology Bureau in Hong Kong, attended a meeting of the Legislative Council's Panel on Commerce and Industry and Innovation and Technology Affairs Committee to deliver the opening speech on the progress report of the Innovation and Technology Fund and investment recommendations. He stated that in recent years, with the support from the fund, Hong Kong's achievements in innovation and technology development have been positive. The fund has actively promoted the development of Hong Kong's manufacturing and new industrial industries in recent years, to drive high-quality economic growth. Over the past year, initiatives such as the "Manufacturing and Production Line Enhancement Pilot Programme" have been introduced under the fund, optimizing the New Industrial Acceleration Programme and continuing the implementation of the New Industrialization Funding Programme. As of the end of last month, the New Industrialization Funding Programme alone has supported the establishment of over 120 production lines, and the added value of Hong Kong's manufacturing and new industrial industries has increased by 6.97% to HKD 82.2 billion in 2024, accounting for approximately 2.64% of the local GDP. Professor Sun continued to say that in recent years, the innovation and technology atmosphere in Hong Kong has significantly improved, with the innovation and technology ecosystem flourishing. Hong Kong is accelerating its pace towards becoming an international innovation and technology center, all of which have been made possible with the support of the fund. We will continue to enhance the local innovation and technology ecosystem, consolidate upstream basic research advantages, promote the transformation of midstream research results, and facilitate downstream industry development, actively carrying out relevant work through the fund. Thank you to all committee members for their support, and myself and my team are happy to answer any questions from the committee. Thank you. Dated: February 24, 2026 (Tuesday) at 17:05 Hong Kong Time.