Leung Chun-ying, the former chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, has welcomed China’s latest Five-Year Plan (2021-25) outline, which reiterates the central government’s resolution to guide Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub.

It’s imperative that Hong Kong integrate into the national development blueprint and proactively engage in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development plan, Leung, who is the current vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said.

While Hong Kong is competitive in terms of basic and practical research in certain fields, we probably lack downstream production capabilities and markets.

Leung Chun-ying, former HKSAR Chief Executive 

“While Hong Kong is competitive in terms of basic and practical research in certain fields, we probably lack downstream production capabilities and markets,” Leung said, adding that the Bay Area cities in Guangdong can complement Hong Kong in terms of transforming research and technologies into real products for practical purposes.

ALSO READ: CE: Draft outline to bring unlimited opportunities to HK

“Also, we should promote investment opportunities in the fields of innovation and technology to prospective investors based in Hong Kong (including local investors and those from outside Hong Kong) so that the collaboration between Hong Kong and Guangdong cities in the Bay Area can be extended to ‘investor-scientist’ collaboration instead of just ‘scientist-scientist’ collaboration,” Leung said.

This view is echoed by Jimmy Tao, chief executive of Vitargent, a biotechnology venture in Hong Kong. While preliminary science and technology research has been consistently encouraged in Hong Kong, there’s a void in terms of applying and transforming this research into products and commodities, Tao said. 

He proposed that the HKSAR government take the initiative to “trial use technologies developed by local companies and research discovered by local institutions”, apart from relying on the Bay Area cities for knowledge transfer and production.

Tao said the major problem facing biotechnology companies like Vitargent, is that “the lab certificate approved in Hong Kong is not compatible with the criteria of CMA and CNAS on the Chinese mainland”, which hinders Hong Kong technology companies from operating on the mainland.

ALSO READ: HK leaders target opportunities in 14th Five-Year Plan

Tao hopes that uniform standards for qualification and eligibility could be agreed on for the good of Hong Kong I&T companies, who seek to make inroads into the mainland, or vice versa. 

“I hope Hong Kong innovation and science companies or startups can be treated the same as their mainland counterparts in terms of the eligibility for launching offices, entering the market, and enjoying favorable policies on the mainland,” Tao said. 

A level playing field should be provided for Hong Kong entrepreneurs to enter the mainland and run their businesses without logistical obstacles, Tao said.

More cross-border financial opportunities are popping up in Hong Kong thanks to more frequent and rewarding cross-border exchanges and interconnections, said Gao Bo, director of Sigma Invest and partner of Pine-Rock family office and one of the “10 outstanding new Hong Kong young persons” in 2016.

“Hong Kong’s financial industry is facing an unmissable new period of development,  creating more new opportunities in the science and technology industry driven by technological innovation, new opportunities inspired by the expansion of Hong Kong’s fintech industry … which are all motivating for Hong Kong entrepreneurs,” Gao said.

ALSO READ: Hong Kong called on to prepare for growth role

While the prospect for Hong Kong as well as the collaboration between both sides is encouraging, more work needs to be done to achieve the best results including getting across an important message to Hong Kong’s young talent, Leung said.  

“We hope (for) them to see that the Chinese mainland is a huge and diverse place and is developing rapidly with abundant opportunities to tap into”, which is the “prerequisite” for mutually beneficial collaboration, Leung said. 

“The central government would be well advised to facilitate their (Hong Kong youth’s) understanding, first-hand, of such opportunities.”

Chow Pak-chin, founding president of Eye Care Charitable Foundation, suggests a mandatory exchange or internship in mainland institutions for Hong Kong university students before graduation. 

“For ophthalmology studies, at least, a field trip to the mainland is a must, where the pool of case samples is way more sizable than that in Hong Kong, with a diverse range of severity,” Chow said. He added that even a short-term exchange will help enrich (Hong Kong) students’ professional knowledge, making them more clinically sophisticated.

READ MORE: Lam says central govt firmly supports the SAR

Because the Hong Kong economy is made up primarily of financial and trade services, many young science, technology and engineering professionals are suffering a mismatch between training and their careers, Leung said. 

“These mismatches can only be addressed by young talent stepping onto the mainland career ladder,” Leung said. “This work is not straightforward by any means but we need to appreciate its significance. And I hope the central government can facilitate (this).”

Source: China Daily