Companies to boost economy, create jobs, and advance local innovation

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has welcomed its seventh batch of 18 strategic enterprises, which are establishing or expanding their operations in the city, bringing the total number to 142.

Together, the 142 companies are expected to bring in about HK$84 billion ($10.7 billion) in investment and create about 27,000 high-value jobs.

The 18 new partners span a wide range of sectors, including advanced manufacturing, new energy, artificial intelligence, life and health technology, fintech, and cultural and creative technology. Several have a market capitalization or valuation exceeding HK$100 billion. Half of the new batch are from the Chinese mainland.

“The growth of our strategic enterprises has been impressive,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said at a signing ceremony organized by the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) on Thursday.

He said the total investment committed by companies in the first six batches had exceeded expectations by 30 percent, while the number of jobs created has exceeded expectations by 34 percent. Altogether, these companies have taken up more than 2.8 million square feet (260,128 square meters) of commercial and industrial space, he added.

“Yet these figures tell only part of the story,” Chan said. “What matters is the difference these enterprises can make in driving our innovation and technology sector forward, providing new impetus to our economy and employment, as well as solutions that make people live better.”

Chan cited one company that developed real-time artificial-intelligence-powered risk scores to predict patient deterioration in general wards and intensive care units, allowing for earlier medical intervention.

Another company, he said, will deploy its AI+Smart vehicle technologies and Internet of Vehicles applications in Hong Kong to accelerate the wider adoption of electric vehicles, while using the city as a testing ground to advance green and smart mobility in the region.

“We are determined to create the conditions for more impact, by connecting finance, research, talent and industry more effectively, and by making it easier for enterprises to scale up their operations as well as products and services,” Chan said.

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He said the Northern Metropolis will provide space for the innovation and technology industry, with three planned university towns helping bring education, research, talent development and industry closer together.

He added that the city is also facilitating the cross-boundary flow of people, goods, capital, data and samples across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Smoother cross-boundary flows of research data and biological samples between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong will support research and development. Collaboration on clinical trials and drug approvals will help companies bring new treatments to patients more quickly, both on the mainland and in international markets, encouraging global pharmaceutical firms to choose Hong Kong as an R&D hub and regional base.

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The OASES was established in 2022 to proactively attract high-potential and representative enterprises from around the globe to Hong Kong. The government offers these companies tailor-made facilitation measures covering land, financing, tax, investment, and talent.

Speaking on the sidelines of the signing ceremony, OASES Director-General Peter Yan King-shun said that some new arrivals also aligned with Hong Kong’s latest push to build an international commodity trading ecosystem.

Yan said a leading Swiss gold trading company among the signatories is preparing to produce gold in Hong Kong while driving an ecosystem encompassing gold refining, storage, and trading. A Shenzhen-based gold company has also established a presence in Hong Kong. Both companies are internationally certified gold refineries.

Yan highlighted the importance of overseas promotion of Hong Kong’s advantages, including visits by the chief executive, the financial secretary, and policy bureau officials, as well as the city’s targeted industrial policies, in attracting businesses to set up in Hong Kong.

Contact the writers at oswald@chinadailyhk.com