Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises holds Meet the Partners Networking Event with Innovation and Technology Commission (with photos)
​The Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) held Meet the Partners Networking Event with the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) today (December 12). Representatives of over 40 strategic enterprises from industries including life and health technology, artificial intelligence and data science, financial technology, and advanced manufacturing and new-energy technology were invited to the event. The ITC’s representatives delivered a comprehensive introduction of the various funding schemes it offers to innovation and technology (I&T) enterprises and focused discussion on programmes that target to support research and development (R&D), such as the Enterprise Support Scheme, Research Talent Hub, as well as the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme newly launched by the Government in October. They also addressed concerns raised by attending enterprise representatives.
The ITC administers the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) which aims to increase the added value, productivity and competitiveness of Hong Kong’s economic activities. Currently, there are a total of 18 funding schemes under the ITF, providing support in five I&T areas, namely “supporting R&D”, “facilitating technology adoption”, “nurturing technology talent”, “supporting technology start-ups” and “fostering an I&T culture”, to meet different business development needs of enterprises.
In his opening remarks, the Director-General of OASES, Mr Philip Yung, pointed out that I&T is one of the key development areas of the current-term Government, and attracting high-potential I&T enterprises is critical to promoting the development of strategic industries and building the I&T ecosystem. OASES has been working closely with the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau on relevant work, with a view to supporting the Government in consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong’s development of “eight centres” as outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan, and expediting the development of Hong Kong into an international I&T centre. Based on OASES’ experience over the past year, funding, talent and policy measures are common major concerns of enterprises regardless of their company size, industry or development plan. Identifying suitable I&T measures and resources would facilitate the setting up or expansion of operation of strategic enterprises in Hong Kong, which will in turn attract their upstream, midstream and downstream partners to Hong Kong, to generate synergies across the entire industry chain.
OASES will continue to organise different promotional events to provide networking platforms for strategic enterprises and stakeholders for jointly promoting the vibrant development of Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem.