From April 12 to 16, the flagship events funded by the Hong Kong SAR Government, the "Digital Economy Summit" and the "Hong Kong International Innovation and Technology Fair" will be held one after another. To tie in with the event, on 10 April, the Information Services Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) organized a media trip to visit the Hong Kong Productivity Council ("HKPC"), the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) and Cyberport. When participating in the media tour, the reporter of Nanfang.com found that Hong Kong is ushering in new opportunities for the development of innovative technology and new industrialization.
In December 2022, the "Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint" clearly proposed to "promote Hong Kong's new industrialisation", which coincides with Guangdong's "manufacturing leader". However, in Hong Kong, where "every inch of land is valuable", is there an advantage in developing a new type of industrialization, and what role does it play in promoting the development of new productive forces in the Greater Bay Area? Let us find out.
Developing a new type of industrialization is not about moving factories back to Hong Kong
"The new industrialization is different from the 're-industrialization' mentioned in Hong Kong in the past, which focuses more on enhancing the competitiveness of traditional industries, emphasizing technological renewal and production efficiency, while the new industrialization pays more attention to the use of artificial intelligence, new materials and other innovative technologies through informatization to achieve industrial transformation and upgrading, and lead the new direction of economic development. Walking into ASTRI, the reporter interviewed the Chief Executive Officer Yip Shing-fai, who mentioned that the development of new industries is not to move factories back to Hong Kong, but to make full use of Hong Kong's informatization and intelligent transformation capabilities to strengthen scientific research and innovation, and develop high-tech industries and green industries.
The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) took a group photo with mainland and foreign media in mainland China. Photo courtesy of the organizer
This coincides with the new quality productive forces mentioned in this year's "Government Work Report" of the mainland. The relevant person in charge of HKPC gave his own interpretation of this, believing that the new quality productivity is to implement market orientation, develop innovative technologies, empower traditional and emerging industries, and achieve sustainable development. It can be said that new-type industrialization is an important engine for the development of new productive forces in Hong Kong.
Many people may wonder what are the advantages of Hong Kong's "every inch of land" and "shortage of technical talents", so what are the advantages of developing a new type of industrialization?
For example, Hong Kong is an international financial centre and an international trade hub, which can provide abundant financing channels and financial products for new industrialization, and can effectively "bring in and go out" products. At the same time, Hong Kong has a strong tradition of the rule of law and intellectual property protection mechanisms, which are essential for promoting technological innovation and international enterprises.
"Relying on Hong Kong's advantage of being backed by the motherland and connected to the world, Hong Kong can also provide more resources for technology start-ups. For example, Cyberport has more than 170 investment institutions around the world, which can connect with investors as a major member of the development of new industrialization.
From "R&D" to "R&D and Achievement Transformation at the Same Time"
The survey found that the promotion of new industrialisation in Hong Kong is indispensable to the "main force", and institutions such as HKPC and ASTRI, which focus on applied research and technology application, play a crucial role.
The media visited the Production Materials and Processes Centre of the Hong Kong Productivity Council. Photo courtesy of the organizer
The realization of new industrialization lies in the transformation and upgrading of enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises with limited funds. "Our main mission is to serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong, and 70% of the projects we serve each year are SMEs. In order to promote its information industrialization, we focus on three aspects, one is to provide advanced technology, through our own scientific research results to help enterprises solve the pain points encountered in the production process, the second is to provide training or education, and the third is government funding, which is equivalent to the role of the secretariat of government-funded projects. The relevant person in charge of HKPC said. It is reported that in the past decade, HKPC has assisted the industry in implementing more than 1,200 smart projects in the Greater Bay Area, of which about 70% of the projects have been implemented in the Mainland and the remaining 3% have been implemented in Hong Kong.
The development of the "main force" is inseparable from the guidance and strong support of the "military adviser" behind it - the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Last year, the HKSAR Government introduced a number of new policies to support the development of new industrialisation, including the establishment of the New Industrial Development Office to coordinate the promotion of new industrialisation, the establishment of a new HK$10 billion "New Industry Acceleration Programme" to provide up to HK$200 million in funding for life and health technology, artificial intelligence and data science, advanced manufacturing and new energy technology enterprises, and the increase in the funding ceiling for each university under the "Industry-University-Research 1+ Scheme" from HK$8 million to HK$16 million. New Industrialisation Funding Scheme" to expand the number of subsidies for smart production lines set up in Hong Kong...... The support policy adheres to the "industry orientation", changes from the previous "emphasis on R&D" to "R&D and achievement transformation simultaneously", and effectively promotes the accelerated development of new industrialization.
The new industrialisation cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong will actively empower the transformation and upgrading of enterprises in the Greater Bay Area
Although the path is relatively clear, it is undeniable that there are still some shortcomings in the process of developing new industrialisation in Hong Kong, such as relatively high business costs, scarce land suitable for industrial development, and insufficient market size. And these happen to be the advantages that Guangdong has. At the same time, Hong Kong's advantages such as original innovation ability and international top talents are the direction that Guangdong has been striving to improve, and it can be said that there are natural genes in Guangdong-Hong Kong cooperation. Under the common goal of promoting the development of new productive forces in the Greater Bay Area, how should Hong Kong and Guangdong complement each other's strengths and plan for greater co-operation?
"Empowering enterprises to transform and upgrade is a good direction for cooperation. The relevant person in charge of HKPC said that HKPC will often visit various cities in the Greater Bay Area to listen to the voices of the industry, understand the needs of customers, and then help them solve their production pain points through Hong Kong's scientific and technological achievements. In the future, in addition to the current four offices in the Greater Bay Area, HKPC also plans to set up nine new productivity bases to empower enterprises in the Greater Bay Area.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) is the first Mainland-Hong Kong cooperative educational institution with independent legal personality approved since the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
In addition, there is great potential for co-operation in science and technology innovation and talent between Guangdong and Hong Kong. The person in charge of Cyberport said that Hong Kong can assume the role of incubating the I&T ecosystem and talent in the development of new industrialisation in the Greater Bay Area, and replicate the incubation model of the I&T ecosystem to other parts of the Greater Bay Area. Cyberport excels in industrial development, talent cultivation, and the integration of emerging and traditional industries, with a mission to foster a vibrant innovation ecosystem.
Ye Chenghui believes that the development of new industrialization should promote the coordinated development of the upstream and downstream industries, and give full play to Hong Kong's technological advantages such as data integration and artificial intelligence, as well as the manufacturing advantages of the mainland of the Greater Bay Area, and do a good job in division of labor and cooperation. This year, ASTRI officially established its presence in the Shenzhen Branch of the Hong Kong Science Park, with a view to promoting the deep integration of the industrial chain and the optimization of the R&D ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area.
Southern Net, Guangdong Learning Reporter Wu Chaoxian Li Miaojuan