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HKSTP to Continue Sustaining Growth of the I&T Sector in HK

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Image Credits: HKSTP, Press Release

To sustain the growth momentum of Hong Kong’s Innovation and Technology (I&T) sector, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) announced new initiatives to further strengthen the I&T ecosystem, focusing on creating a culture and environment where tech entrepreneurs and enterprises can flourish.

These initiatives are aimed at building on top of the major milestones HKSTP has achieved for Hong Kong’s I&T sector.

Some of these achievements include growing Science Park’s I&T community to more than 800 companies coming from 22 countries and regions and nurturing more than 640 incubatees from its world-class incubation and acceleration programmes. In the area of investments, to date, HKSTP has helped partner companies and incubatees raise more than HK$0.6 billion.

From the HK$10 billion government funding support announced in 2018, HKSTP’s incubation programmes were boosted and they received overwhelming interest from the start-up community.

The Science and Technology Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) received more than 300 applications from individuals and business entities, with 70 teams now admitted in the programme. The increased financial support for Incu-App, Incu-Tech and Incu-Bio incubation programmes also attracted over 600 applications and enquiries in the past year.

New Initiatives to Strengthen the I&T Ecosystem

Acquiring high-calibre talent and enabling the exchange will be crucial if Hong Kong is to leapfrog and accelerate I&T development into new areas.

In June 2019, HKSTP rolled out the ELITE programme, a major partnership initiative to attract high-potential tech companies from local and around the world with pioneering R&D capabilities to set up or expand their R&D operations at Hong Kong Science Park.

Partner companies with successful application will receive HKSTP’s funding support for R&D operating and capital expenditure, as well as rental subsidies. To date, five companies have been admitted in the programme and they focus on R&D in bio-medical, electronics, and information communications technologies (ICT).

To reflect HKSTP’s increased commitment to supporting tech innovators at the various stages of their start-up journeys, the highly successful pilot funding programme, Corporate Venture Fund (CVF), is rebranded as HKSTP Ventures.

First launched in 2015 and operating under a corporate co-investment model, the fund connects high-calibre start-ups with public and private funding in Hong Kong and beyond. In FY2018/19, every HK$1 of the CVF fund was matched by HK$13 from the private sector. Up to September 2019, approximately 35 private sector investors were engaged under the fund.

HKSTP Ventures signifies the new position HKSTP holds in the area of investments, aiming to connect venture capitalists, strategic investors, angel investors and family offices to investment opportunities in deep technologies, especially in AI & Robotics, biotech, fintech and smart cities. 

Expansion and Development for Sustained Growth 

The first stage of the Science Park Expansion Programme has been completed. Two research clusters under the InnoHK initiative, AIR@InnoHK and Health@InnoHK, will soon start operations and look into ground-breaking R&D for AI & robotics and healthcare.

The soon-to-be-launched Robotics Catalysing Centre 2.0 will focus on driving robotics development and adoption in various industries, such as manufacturing, construction and healthcare.

HKSTP is also exploring avenues to extend its footprint beyond its current premises through collaborations with the larger Hong Kong community.

The Park has started a new university collaboration model that will drive knowledge transfer, strengthen academia-industry alliances, nurture young technopreneurs and commercialisation opportunities of university spin-offs.

To align with the HKSAR Government’s re-industrialisation initiative, HKSTP has engaged local and overseas manufacturers and new economy industries to understand their requirements for advanced manufacturing.

Based on their insights, HKSTP is currently installing advanced facilities and support services that will meet the stringent requirements of their production processes, such as intellectual property (IP) protection, intensive R&D, proprietary fabrication and testing techniques.

These moves will also give existing companies in the three HKSTP-managed industrial estates an opportunity to upgrade their current processes for enhanced productivity and improved quality of production.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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