Hong Kong Week: A diverse economy is the key to the future

HONG Kong’s economy has thrived thanks to its leading position in finance and tourism in Asia. But the former colony is well aware that it needs to diversify. David Parkin reports.

LEAVE the bustling heart of Hong Kong’s business district and head out past the Sha Tin racecourse into the New Territories and you soon arrive at a cluster of gleaming glass and metal buildings that make up Hong Kong Science Park nestling on the Tolo Harbour waterfront.

It is a state-of-the-art campus with multi-national companies such as Philips and Dupont rubbing shoulders with start-up firms and university students.

It is clear that Hong Kong is focused on developing a new and vibrant sector here.

Tony Tan, chief executive of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, said: “We are helping to diversify the economy from finance and tourism.

“We provide hardware – offices and common-use laboratories – to support the technology clusters that we want to nuture. We are a source of raw talent for companies like Dupont.”

A tour of the park shows that there is more than just potential here – the raw materials to help start-ups, spin-outs and inward investors grow are there to be seen.

It is a model that British university science parks must envy. The Hong Kong government is backing this horse to be a strong runner.

“The services we provide include staff labs with technicians and engineers. We also have an intellectual property legal panel to help companies apply for patents.

“We nuture about 120 start-ups at any time,” said Mr Tan.

As well as providing the buildings and labs, the Science and Technology Park has also put in place financial support, business guidance and business matching and mentoring.

“We have already graduated 280 companies and 220 are still in business today,” said Mr Tan proudly.

The oldest has been trading for almost a decade and he said it is a mix of 60% foreign firms and 40% local companies on the park.

The programme sees firms spend between two and four years in it. “We don’t take equity. We do milestone monitoring, we want to create a dynamic, comfortable environment for companies.

The focus is on firms operating in the electronic, ICT, nano-technology, precision engineering biotech and greentech sectors.

“Hong Kong has no foundation in developing green technology,” said Mr Tan. That is why it has attracted US giant Dupont to establish its global thin film photo solar panel research in the park.

The proximity to the vast Chinese market is clearly a powerful attraction.

“We leverage the strength of ‘one country, two regions’. Hong Kong has an ability to attract talent from anywhere around the world. It has eight world class universities, of which six conduct research and three are ranked in the top 50 global rankings of universities,” added Mr Tan.

Firms interested in doing business in Hong Kong and the wider Chinese market can attend Think Asia Think Hong Kong events being held in London on September 13 and Leeds on September 14 at the Hilton Hotel.

For more information go to: www.thinkasiathinkhk.com

TheBusinessDesk.com’s Hong Kong Week is in association with international law firm DLA Piper.