Leveraging Hong Kong's strengths to serve national needs: HKSAR financial chief

HONG KONG -- Paul Chan, financial secretary of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Sunday that Hong Kong is determined to leverage its strengths to serve national needs under the 15th Five-Year Plan.

Chan said in his blog that institutions and organizations across Hong Kong are keen to see how the city can seize opportunities brought by the 15th Five-Year Plan, align with national strategies, and drive stronger growth for their own industries.

Under the HKSAR government's leadership, departments and public institutions are working together to accelerate the cultivation of new productive forces. This includes helping mainland innovation and technology enterprises "go global," attracting them to set up research centers in Hong Kong, and fostering industry clustering, with the benefits steadily becoming visible, Chan said.

For example, the Hong Kong Productivity Council, a member of the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global, established "The Cradle -- Go Global Service Center" to provide funding and support services for enterprises expanding abroad. Since its launch in April last year, over 350 enterprises have expressed interest, with more than 100 projects entering concrete follow-up stages.

To accelerate clustering, Hong Kong has intensified efforts to attract tech companies to establish a presence in the city. The Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises, and InvestHK have all been actively promoting this work in recent years, he added.

Chan stressed that Hong Kong must also leverage its role as an international financial center, using finance to empower and accelerate industrial growth.

Last year, Hong Kong's IPO market led globally, with 119 companies raising over HK$280 billion (about $35.83 billion). Enterprises in information technology, biotechnology, new energy, and advanced industries accounted for about 70 percent of the funds raised, he said.

Chan said that Hong Kong will seize the opportunities of the 15th Five-Year Plan, actively integrate into and serve the country's overall development, further promote integration of technological and industrial innovation, and push the economy toward high-quality, high-value-added, and diversified growth.