Hong Kong will seek support of mainland China to expand scale of cross-border data coming into city, Paul Chan says

Hong Kong will seek the support of the central government to expand the scale of data coming into the city to cover places beyond the Greater Bay Area in a bid to further drive the development of innovation and technology, the finance chief has said.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Thursday also said the city would look into the possibility of introducing a platform where information could be traded and a framework on guidelines for good data governance in collaboration with mainland China.

“In the future, we will further seek support from central ministries and commissions to explore expanding the geographical area and scale of data coming to Hong Kong and look into the feasibility of [setting up] a framework of cross-border data governance and data trading,” he told a digital economy summit.

Chan announced the plans weeks after Hong Kong and the mainland launched a pilot scheme to facilitate data sharing for certain industries in the bay area by adopting a standard contract to ensure compliance and security of cross-border transfers of information.

The bay area refers to Beijing’s initiative to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland cities into an economic powerhouse.

Beijing has been promoting data trading, which typically involves business intelligence, advertising, demographics, research and market information. The first big data exchange on the mainland was set up in Beijing in March 2021, while a marketplace in Guiyang sealed the country’s inaugural deal involving personal information last May.

The financial chief said the greater access would cement Hong Kong’s position as a global data hub, which would help promote local research and developments in artificial intelligence, big data and healthcare, thus enhancing the city’s appeal as a base for the innovation and technology industry.