Hong Kong to boost tech, financial services integration during AI boom: Paul Chan Hong Kong’s finance chief has pledged to further integrate financial services with technology innovation to foster a thriving ecosystem, following a surge in investor interest in artificial intelligence-related stocks during the first trading day of the year. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also stressed on Sunday the importance of Hong Kong’s role as an international capital market in fuelling the growth of mainland China’s frontier tech firms using the city’s funding and liquidity. “We welcome these enterprises to list and raise capital in Hong Kong and also encourage them to settle in the city to establish research and development [R&D] centres, transform their research outcomes, and set up advanced manufacturing facilities,” Chan said on his weekly blog. “We support them in establishing regional or international headquarters in Hong Kong to reach international markets and strategically expand across Southeast Asia and the globe.” The Hang Seng Index kicked off 2026 with a bang, surging more than 700 points – a 2.8 per cent jump that marked its strongest opening since 2013. Innovation and technology giants spearheaded the rise, with the Hang Seng Tech Index soaring by 4 per cent as investor appetite for AI-related stocks reached a fever pitch. Chan cited Biren Technology as a prime example of the city’s proactive investment promotion, recalling his 2023 visit to the company’s Shanghai headquarters to pitch the unique advantages of the “one country, two systems” framework. Following that meeting, the company became one of the first strategic enterprises recruited to Hong Kong, establishing both an R&D centre and a regional headquarters at Cyberport within the same year. “As the country advances high-level technological self-reliance, Hong Kong’s open and international financial market provides powerful funding support for mainland frontier tech enterprises,” Chan said. He added that stock market reforms in recent years had optimised the market towards “new quality productive forces” to meet global demand for frontier tech. These reforms lowered the barrier for high-growth firms, including Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s Chapter 18A, which permits listings for pre-revenue biotech companies with a HK$1.5 billion market cap, and Chapter 18C, which supports tech sectors such as AI and green energy. Chan noted that Hong Kong saw more than 400 new companies listed by the end of 2025, making up about 15 per cent of the total listed firms and contributing to around 30 per cent of the total market value and trading volume. He added that expectations were high that more frontier tech enterprises would pursue listings this year. “With the synergistic development of finance and innovation, Hong Kong’s advantages are becoming even more prominent,” the finance chief said. “In this era where technology defines competitiveness, we will seize this momentum and build upon it to establish a more flourishing innovation and technology ecosystem and industry, driving high-quality economic development.” On the infrastructure and regional collaboration front, Chan highlighted that Biren Technology had collaborated with local AI companies and research institutions to innovate over the past two years. This included supporting Hong Kong’s Cyberport in establishing an “AI Lab” and exploring leveraging the site’s “AI Supercomputing Centre” to enhance the city’s digital processing capabilities, he said. He also noted that Cyberport had partnered with Jiangsu province to establish an innovation centre to promote research in the city and the technology’s application in the province, while the Hong Kong Science Park’s joint initiatives had welcomed 12 Zhejiang and Hangzhou-based innovative enterprises. Chan added that the Hong Kong side of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone would further strengthen innovation ties within the Greater Bay Area. The finance chief earlier said he expected the city’s economic growth to reach 3.2 per cent this year, slightly surpassing the government’s initial forecast of 2 to 3 per cent. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3338660/hong-kong-boost-tech-and-financial-services-integration-amid-ai-boom-paul-chan (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post