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Greater Bay Area
Hong KongHong Kong Economy

Innovation, technology will give Hong Kong economy a boost and help develop high-end industry, senior officials say

Financial Secretary Paul Chan and tech chief Nicholas Yang say Hong Kong can profit from Greater Bay Area scheme as research institutes set up in city

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Paul Chan said the government would continue to support innovation and technology. Photo: Winson Wong
Tony Cheung

Innovation and technology (I&T) will become profitable in Hong Kong and drive the city’s bid to develop high-end manufacturing, according to two senior officials.

Both Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po and Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung, writing on their separate official blogs on Sunday, said Hong Kong’s economy and the technology sector can benefit from Beijing’s “Greater Bay Area” project, which aims at turning the city and 10 neighbours in southern China into a financial and innovation hub rivalling Silicon Valley.

Hong Kong’s innovation and technology sector is set to get a significant boost from a slew of initiatives announced in Beijing on Wednesday, including the setting-up of two new state-backed laboratories in the city’s Science Park and a cross-border cooperation arrangement to be signed later.

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Nicholas Yang. Photo: Felix Wong
Nicholas Yang. Photo: Felix Wong
The measures were unveiled after an unprecedented meeting in the Chinese capital attended by Vice-Premier Han Zheng and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
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Yang said the two new state-backed laboratories, together with foreign research institutions – such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – which would set foot in Hong Kong, showed researchers from mainland China and abroad “are full of confidence in Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem”.

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