Hong Kong Expands Tech Support to Strengthen SME Resilience Across Asia-Pacific
Thestandard · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong is accelerating enterprise transformation and cultivating new quality productive forces to drive economic momentum and strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises across the Asia-Pacific region. Speaking at an APEC seminar on SME capacity building and resilience in Guangzhou on Monday, Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Kevin Choi Kit-ming outlined the city's multipronged strategy to foster an innovation-driven, highly adaptable business ecosystem .
Key Points
- Hong Kong has approximately 360,000 SMEs representing more than 98 percent of local businesses and employing 1.2 million people .
- The administration is aligning local commercial development with major national initiatives including the 15th Five-Year Plan, Greater Bay Area development, and Belt and Road Initiative .
- Three major technology parks and five research and development centers anchor Hong Kong's innovation landscape .
- Cross-boundary incubation at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Loop focuses on life and health technology and artificial intelligence .
- Cyberport launched a dedicated program in July to help one-person companies capitalize on emerging AI tools, while the Pilot I&T Accelerator Scheme introduced in January continues to attract top-tier global and local accelerator institutions to the city .
Why It Matters
These initiatives position Hong Kong as a regional innovation hub while providing SMEs with tools to navigate global economic volatility. The focus on AI adoption and smart manufacturing capabilities could significantly enhance productivity and competitiveness for thousands of local enterprises employing over one million workers .
These initiatives position Hong Kong as a regional innovation hub while providing SMEs with tools to navigate global economic volatility. The focus on AI adoption and smart manufacturing capabilities could significantly enhance productivity and competitiveness for thousands of local enterprises employing over one million workers .