Opinion | Hong Kong’s I&T strategy must keep quality of life at its heart

The wheels seem to finally be turning for Hong Kong, at least on the innovation and technology front. In what Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong described as “a big gift from the country to celebrate the 26th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule”, it will soon be easier for data to flow from mainland locations in the Greater Bay Area to Hong Kong.

This came about after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Hong Kong government and the Cyberspace Administration of China. Exactly how the data flow will happen is being developed by the Hong Kong and mainland authorities and will be unveiled within a few months.

There are details such as privacy protection to iron out, but as Sun noted, it took years of negotiations to loosen restrictions on data flow, at least for the Greater Bay Area. Cross-border data transfer involving banking and personal care information is essential to realising the central government’s plans to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre.

The “big gift” of data is just one of several pieces that must fall into place for Hong Kong to realise its I&T potential. The city is playing catch-up after watching Shenzhen transform into a tech powerhouse in just two decades.

The San Tin Technopole is already in the works and is just a stone’s throw away from Shenzhen. The Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park and the Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Zone are only separated by the Shenzhen River. The potential for synergy is enormous.

The San Tin Technopole project in the northern New Territories is expected to take 10 to 15 years to come to fruition with the potential for 215,000 jobs to be created in the area. The San Tin Town Centre is billed as “a self-sufficient, integrated neighbourhood with comprehensive public and community facilities including an iconic recreational and cultural complex”. The area is expected to “also provide daily support to those working and residing in the I&T park”.