Excellent research facilities, world-class scientists and a strong intellectual property regime have helped Hong Kong to be a powerhouse of healthcare and pharmaceutical innovation.
As an international financial centre with excellent infrastructures, free flow of capital, information and people, pool of talents and friendly business environment, Hong Kong is positioning to be an ideal place for healthcare development, building a thriving ecosystem of biomedical companies, and matching business with trading and investment opportunities.
Hong Kong stands ready to embrace healthcare development. A factor is the high quality public health and hospital services in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has also established a solid foundation in research, five universities in Hong Kong are among the world's top 100, and among them two excellent medical schools. Our research excellence is well recognised internationally, there is a group of world renowned experts in biomedical research winning frequently overseas science awards.
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“The Government”) has invested heavily with a total commitment of over HK$130 billion in the development of Innovation and Technology since the Chief Executive took office in 2017. One of the initiatives is the establishment of the two InnoHK research clusters which comprise 28 research laboratories jointly set up by local universities and world-renowned universities and research institutes, and among them, 16 are focusing on biomedical and healthcare-related technology.
Hong Kong also has a vibrant ecosystem for start-ups, the number of startup companies and employees are growing. Many of these startup companies are focusing on health-related areas, particularly in the digital healthcare sector. Currently, there are more than 200 health technology-related start-ups in the Hong Kong Science Park, which provides office space, and comprehensive programme in incubation, acceleration, as well as funding assistance. At Cyberport, another important technological infrastructure, there are over 90 start-ups focusing on health technology.
As these start-ups grow, they could take advantage of Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre, and get the financial services and equity that they need. Since April 2018, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has introduced rules to allow the listing of pre-revenue or pre-profit biotechnology companies, namely the Chapter 18A Scheme. Hong Kong is now Asia's largest and the world's second-largest fundraising hub for biotech companies.
Hong Kong has the mission to develop an international innovation and technology hub under China's 14th Five Year Plan, thus the government plans to strengthen Hong Kong’s capabilities on various fronts. First, Hong Kong will boost its healthcare R&D infrastructure. The Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (HSITP) in the Lok Ma Chau Loop will be completed by phases from 2024 onwards. An InnoLife Healthtech Hub will be set up there. It will focus on R&D of biomedicine, physics, engineering, artificial intelligence and so on. With some HK$6 billion earmarked for its operations in the next few years, InnoLife could become a prominent platform in attracting and gathering startups or large enterprises from around the world.
The Government is also proposing the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy (“the Strategy”) with Innovation and technology as the economic engine. The San Tin Technopole, as part of the Strategy, will provide 150 hectares of land, almost double the size of HSITP, to accommodate research and advanced manufacturing industries. At the same time Hong Kong Science Park and the Cyberport will continue to expand. The public hospital system is undergoing redevelopment /expansion.
Hong Kong has been enriching healthcare ecosystem through a combination of R&D funding, education to nurture local talents and recruitment of scientists from overseas and the Mainland. The government has been offering various funding scheme for R&D activities, including matching fund for in-house R&D projects or collaborative research with research institutes, super tax deduction on R&D expense, and Talent Research Hub scheme that provides subsidiaries to nurture talents.
Health and life sciences researches require clinical data and clinical trials. Several Hong Kong hospitals have been accredited by the National Medical Products Administration for conducting clinical trials, and their data are also widely recognised by regulatory authorities around the world for drug and medical device registration. The public hospital service in Hong Kong is highly concentrated and the Hospital Authority is in possession of a huge amount of valuable data for research. Opening up such data for R&D is part of the open data policy of the government.
Opportunities also arise from co-operation with the Mainland, particularly the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area which has a population of 86 million. To facilitate collaboration in the GBA, the limitation on exporting Mainland human genetic resources to Hong Kong is relaxed for some research institutions and the use of Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical appliances in selected medical institutions is allowed in the Greater Bay Area Mainland cities.
About InvestHK
Invest Hong Kong is the government department with the mission to promote and attract foreign direct investment to Hong Kong. We work with overseas entrepreneurs, SMEs and multinationals that wish to set up an office in Hong Kong. InvestHK provides support to prospective investors at all stages. InvestHK has more than 30 offices globally, in SE Asia, we have office in Bangkok, Singapore and Jakarta.
For more information, visit www.investhk.gov.hk