Sun Dong: The measures to support the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong are beginning to show results, with the number of startups increasing by 3700 in the past ten years.

On May 6, Professor Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation and Technology of Hong Kong, replied to questions from legislators, stating that after years of hard work, the measures to support innovation and technology in Hong Kong implemented by the government have begun to show results, and the innovation and technology ecosystem in Hong Kong is flourishing. The number of start-up companies has increased from over 1500 in 2015 to over 5200 in 2025; Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport, the two flagship innovation and technology hubs, have together nurtured and supported about 20 unicorn companies. Hong Kong has also performed well in some international rankings related to innovation and technology: in the 2025 Global Digital Competitiveness Rankings, Hong Kong ranked fourth globally, up three spots from 2024, and continued to perform well in the "technology" category, maintaining a position as the third in the world. In the 2025 Global Innovation Index Top 100 Innovation Clusters, the "Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou" cluster ranked first for the first time. Hong Kong also ranks fourth in the 2025 World Talent Rankings released by the International Institute for Management Development, becoming the champion of Asia. Sun Dong mentioned that innovation and technology (inno-tech) is the driving force of economic growth and key to enhancing industrial competitiveness. The Innovation and Technology Bureau (ITB) is responsible for formulating comprehensive innovation and technology policies, following the development direction and strategies laid out in the "Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint" announced in 2022, leading Hong Kong to achieve the vision of becoming an international innovation and technology center. The Blueprint focuses on strategically significant innovation and technology industries, as well as enhancing the innovation and technology ecosystem and promoting the development of the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors. In the upstream sector, Hong Kong is committed to consolidating and enhancing the advantages of university basic research, fully leveraging Hong Kong's ability to make breakthroughs from "zero to one." In the midstream and downstream sectors, Hong Kong has introduced various measures to incentivize the transformation of research results from "one to N" and industrial development. The current Hong Kong government has launched three HK$100 billion plans, including the "Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration Scheme" to accelerate the commercialization of research outcomes, the "New Industrial Acceleration Scheme" to encourage enterprises engaged in strategic industries to set up new smart production facilities in Hong Kong, and the "Innovation and Technology Industry Support Fund" to lead market capital investment in strategic emerging areas. The SAR government has a clear and consistent innovation and technology industry policy, focusing resources on industries with growth potential that can create economic value for Hong Kong, following global technology trends and local strengths. At the same time, the SAR government departments will launch relevant measures in accordance with individual policy categories and industry needs to promote technology empowerment and support national high-quality development. For example, the Environmental Protection Department's Low Carbon Green Technology Research Fund aims to encourage and support decarbonization and green technology projects with a high potential for application and commercialization, to accelerate Hong Kong's low-carbon transformation and strengthen environmental protection; the Transport and Logistics Bureau's Smart Transport Fund sponsors enterprises or institutions to research and apply vehicle-related technology, promoting the long-term development of smart travel in Hong Kong. In terms of resource allocation, when formulating specific arrangements each year, the SAR government will fully consider the overall financial situation of the government and the urgency and priority of various policy categories and measures (including policy measures of different policy bureaus to promote various technology applications), aiming to accurately allocate resources to technology projects with strategic value and enhance synergies in cross-departmental cooperation. Looking ahead, the SAR government will actively align with the national "14th Five-Year Plan" and formulate Hong Kong's first five-year plan to seize the major opportunities brought by national development. It will continue to closely monitor the latest developments in Hong Kong's innovation and technology sector, maintain an open attitude, learn from the experiences of different economies at home and abroad in promoting innovation and technology, continue to make concerted efforts, and comprehensively promote the construction of Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology center, contributing Hong Kong's strength to the country's achievement of high-level technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.