Tag Archives: China

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, chaired the second meeting of the Steering Committee on Health and Medical Innovation Development today (January 20) to discuss the development direction and policy initiatives for driving medical innovation in Hong Kong. Members also offered advice on the progress of establishing the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation (CMPR) and the development of the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute (GBAICTI).
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     At the meeting, members were briefed on the latest developments of establishing the CMPR. Since its establishment in June last year, the Preparatory Office for the CMPR has been taking forward a number of measures, including reviewing the regulatory work of drugs and medical devices in other regions to formulate a regulatory framework of drugs and medical devices suitable for Hong Kong, assessing the need for legislation, devising the restructuring of the existing regulatory functions and service plans for drugs and medical devices, and proposing the timetable for the establishment of the CMPR and the roadmap towards the adoption of “primary evaluation” in the first half of this year.

     Furthermore, members also offered advice on the strategic development plan for the GBAICTI. The GBAICTI will take forward a number of key tasks this year, including promoting process optimisation, establishing a one-stop Hong Kong Clinical Trial Digital Portal, strengthening collaboration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and planning for the GBAICTI’s move into one of the wet laboratory-enabled buildings at the soon-to-be-completed Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, with a view to further enhancing Hong Kong’s overall clinical trial efficiency and capability. 

     Other key areas of work of the GBAICTI include talent training, strengthening Hong Kong’s role in regional and international clinical trial networks, and establishing a high-level international clinical trial services platform in collaboration with other GBA cities, with a view to pushing ahead with the development of an advanced biomedical industry at full steam by capitalising on Hong Kong’s unique advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, thereby complementing the development goals as set out in the Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone promulgated by the State Council.

     Professor Lo said, “At today’s meeting, members of the Steering Committee recognised the efforts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in promoting health and medical innovation and offered professional advice on the way forward regarding the development direction and policy initiatives. The Health Bureau (HHB) will actively follow up, and make every effort to take forward and implement the measures on expediting the reform of the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices and enhancing Hong Kong’s clinical trial capability on all fronts as set out in ‘The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address’ by complementing technological innovation with institutional innovation. The HHB will also collaborate with Shenzhen to establish the GBA Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform to extend the research and development (R&D) network and expedite clinical trials; and establish the Real-World Study and Application Centre to leverage Hong Kong’s vast and standardised high-quality medical databases, with a view to accelerating Hong Kong’s development into an international health and medical innovation hub.”

     “In the Resolution of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, it mentions the development strategy for further reforming the medical and healthcare systems and improving the mechanisms for supporting the development of innovative drugs and medical equipment. The HHB will embrace changes while staying principled, and leverage Hong Kong’s advantages of ‘one country, two systems’, its high-quality healthcare professions and high compatibility with international standards and more, to develop Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub and foster co-ordinated development with other GBA cities, so that patients may benefit from the most advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies, thereby achieving the goal of bringing the benefits of good drugs and R&D to Hong Kong. At the same time, we will promote the development of advanced biomedical technology industries and actively integrate into the overall national development by showing support for fostering new quality productive forces in biomedical technology as set out in the Resolution and the Development Plan to align with national development strategies,” he emphasised.

     Established and wholly owned by the HKSAR Government, the GBAICTI officially opened on November 21 last year in the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone. The GBAICTI co-ordinates clinical trial resources in the public and private sectors in Hong Kong and serve as a one-stop clinical trial support platform for medical research institutions. The Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trials Center in the Shenzhen Park also officially opened on the same day. The “one institute, one center” will jointly establish the GBA Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform under the “one zone, two parks” co-ordinated development model.

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     Police today (January 20) appealed to the public for information on a girl who went missing in Lantau North.      Pun Ruth Elizabeth Guillergan, aged 15, went missing after she left her residenc… read more

     ​Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) today (January 20) announced that the department achieved a record-breaking year for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2024, assisting 539 overseas and Mainland companies to set up or expand their business in Hong Kong. This represents a 41 per cent increase compared to 2023, reflecting the strong appeal of Hong Kong as a leading business hub in the region.
     
     The strong FDI performance was driven by investment across diverse and high-value industries. It is estimated that the total investment thereby brought to Hong Kong’s economy has reached over HK$67.7 billion, which also represents a record high and a nearly 10 per cent increase compared to 2023. These companies expected to create 6 864 job opportunities in Hong Kong during their first year of operation, an over 67 per cent increase compared to 2023.
     
     The top five locations of origin among the companies assisted span markets in the United States, Europe and Asia.
           

Location of origin	Number
The Mainland	273
United States	52
France	24
The United Kingdom	24
Singapore	23

 
     Among the companies assisted, the top five sectors were as follows:
           

Sectors	Number
Innovation and technology	120
Financial services and fintech	110
Family offices	95
Tourism and hospitality	58
Business and professional services	47

               
     The Director-General of Investment Promotion, Ms Alpha Lau, said that the results in 2024 reflect overseas and Mainland enterprises having full confidence in Hong Kong, selecting the city as their base to expand regional businesses in Asia to capture the unique opportunities brought by Hong Kong as a “super connector” and a “super value-adder”.
     
     In addition, the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES), of which InvestHK is responsible for its financial requirements assessment, received more than 800 applications by the end of 2024 since its launch last March which will bring in around HK$24 billion in investments to the city. With enhancements to the scheme to be effective in March this year, this number is expected to further increase.
     
     Ms Lau said, “We are proud of the department’s outstanding performance in 2024. The number of companies we assisted and the amount of direct investment they brought to Hong Kong both hit record highs despite a complex and ever-changing global economic environment. It demonstrates Hong Kong’s resilience and adaptability and businesses’ strong confidence in the city as the preferred base to expand in the region. In 2025, we will encourage companies to expand their operations in Hong Kong beyond sales and services, covering areas such as research and development, treasury management, procurement and supply chains, regional management headquarters, listing or financing, etc.
     
     “Looking ahead, we are committed to enhancing quality and creating new opportunities. We will prioritise attracting businesses that can generate substantial economic benefits and quality investments for Hong Kong. We will strategically introduce emerging industries from traditional markets, supporting Hong Kong’s development in new competitive sectors like cultural and creative industries, and technology. And we will explore emerging markets and strengthen our promotional efforts in places along the Belt and Road, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations economies and Eastern Europe, to assist local companies to expand their regional operations via Hong Kong,” she concluded.
             
     InvestHK’s annual report 2024 is available on the department’s website here: www.investhk.gov.hk/en/resource-centre/?tab=&type=Annual%20Report. read more

     â€‹Hongkong Post announced today (January 20) that, as advised by the postal administration of the United States, mail delivery services to the areas with postcodes 27006–28909, 30401–30999, 31501–31699, … read more