Editorial | Top UN ranking proves the benefits of Hong Kong’s integration
Taking the top spot in the 2025 Global Innovation Index shows the power of Hong Kong joining forces with the rest of the Greater Bay Area
Hong Kong officials have long aspired to turn the city into a global hi-tech hub. Now we have arrived as part of a highly innovative cluster of leading cities. That is thanks to the synergy turbocharged by Shenzhen’s technological innovation, Guangzhou’s manufacturing prowess and Hong Kong’s deep financial resources. The index has added a new ranking metric for venture capital in which Hong Kong excels. That means tracking not only science and technology, but also entrepreneurship and new products and services being turned out.
People always need capital to turn great ideas into real-world enterprises. Hong Kong has the perfect financial ecosystem, with its deep liquidity, diverse financing channels and a supportive government guaranteeing a robust regulatory environment.
Besides traditional lenders, the channels for pairing aspiring businesses with angel investors, venture capital and private equity funds are available at every stage of growth. By the end of 2023, government figures showed “intellectual property-intensive industries” contributed about a third of Hong Kong’s GDP.
Hong Kong has become increasingly adept at turning promising research into profitable enterprises as it builds on the cluster’s existing strengths in patent filings and scientific publications.
The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster registered 6,916 venture capital deals, placing it sixth among the top 10. In scientific research, its output of 193,605 publications placed it third behind Beijing and Shanghai-Suzhou. Its 117,542 patent applications came second after Tokyo-Yokohama. The index tracks 100 innovation clusters from 33 economies. China has the most with 24. Hong Kong is maximising its potential in the right place, at the right time.