Hong Kong ‘has long way to go’ before it can be I&T hub like Silicon Valley: minister
Technology minister Sun Dong says more work needed to turn industry development efforts into actual productivity and economic growth
Hong Kong “has a long way to go” before it can become a global innovation and technology (I&T) hub in the same vein as America’s Silicon Valley, and the city should encourage the private sector to provide more capital to help develop the industry, a minister has said.
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said on Sunday that the government had made a good start in developing the industry, but more work was needed to turn those efforts into productivity and economic growth.
“If we want to be like Silicon Valley, I think we still have a long way to go,” he told a radio show.
“Hong Kong does not have a lot of time for that. The Hong Kong government is facing many fiscal challenges but we need capital to develop the industry, similar to other places around the world.
“Hong Kong is a capitalist society … We should think about how the government can use limited input to leverage more capital from society to invest in an industry that has strategic importance to Hong Kong.”
Sun noted the government had invested more than HK$200 billion (US$25.6 billion) into I&T development in recent years, adding the related expenditure amounted to over 1 per cent of the city’s gross domestic product in 2022.