The Hong Kong government has established a $40 billion fund to advance strategic technologies, merging public and private capital across five focus areas: life and health technology, AI and robotics, semiconductors and smart devices, digitalization and industrial modernization, and future and sustainable development. The Innovation and Technology Industry-Oriented Fund will see the government invest $10 billion, with private partners expected to contribute at least three times that sum.
This initiative forms part of Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, unveiled in September, which also expands the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund to allocate up to $2.5 billion for high-priority startups. The goal is to attract at least $7.5 billion in market capitalization through coordinated investments with private investors.
The Hong Kong Investment Corporation will supply patient capital for deep-tech fields such as biotechnology, renewable energy, and green technology. The plan further identifies four fintech development zones: data and payment infrastructure, AI-powered applications, financial system resilience, and asset tokenization. To accelerate adoption, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Project Ensemble will promote real-world use of tokenized products, including central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, and tokenized securities. Regulatory flexibility will grow through expanded supervisory sandboxes, enabling controlled trials of new financial tools before full implementation.
Unlike earlier programs that depended on temporary grants, this fund prioritizes sustained partnerships in core technologies, reflecting a global shift toward public-private collaboration in high-risk research. The model aligns with successful funds in Singapore and South Korea, where government backing combined with private sector risk-taking has scaled startups effectively. Hong Kong will also promote broader digital asset adoption—such as tokenized deposits and bonds—while adapting regulations to oversee innovation. Initial efforts will concentrate on sectors where the city holds existing strengths, including fintech and biotech, before broadening to wider industrial advancements.
