Hong Kong eyes HK$220 million private investment for national innovation centre Hong Kong authorities will seek half of the HK$440 million (US$56.2 million) investment for a planned national innovation centre in Yuen Long from the private sector, while setting performance benchmarks that an analyst has called ambitious. The target was announced after Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po revealed the plan in his latest budget in February, which earmarked funds to establish the first national manufacturing innovation centre outside mainland China as part of efforts to spearhead artificial intelligence (AI) development. “We expect the innovation centre to be self-sufficient three years into its operation and gradually become profitable in its fifth year,” the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau said in a paper submitted to lawmakers on Thursday. The bureau added the government would subsidise the centre with about HK$220 million, while the remaining HK$220 million covering other expenditures such as equipment purchases, commercialisation and operations would be sought from the industry. Earlier, an insider told the South China Morning Post that the centre would be located in the Yuen Long InnoPark and focus on semiconductors that could be used in electric vehicles (EVs) and aerospace equipment designed for extreme environments, including deep-sea exploration. The source added that the centre was expected to operate for a minimum of one year and must pass a formal evaluation before being designated as a national innovation centre. The government also said the institute would commence operations of its production queues for third-generation semiconductors this year, aiming to jump-start local research and help local industries upgrade their technology. According to the legislative paper, the Hong Kong Microelectronics Research and Development Institute will be responsible for the centre’s operations and will set up a technical expert committee to guide its research and design direction. The paper also said that the centre would launch this year and develop across three stages. The first stage, running through 2028, will focus on preparation and construction, while the second stage, between 2029 and 2030, aims to upgrade the facility into a globally recognised power semiconductor platform. From 2031 to 2035, the third stage aims to establish the centre as a top-tier global innovation hub, it stated. Ryan Ip Man-ki, vice-president of Our Hong Kong Foundation and executive director of its Public Policy Institute, said on Friday that the targets set by the government were “ambitious”. “It is not easy to achieve the target, and the government might need to provide more incentives to attract overseas companies, such as tax breaks,” he said. Ip added the project could not rely on public funding alone and its success depended on strong industry collaboration, requiring authorities to actively scout for corporate partners. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3350515/hong-kong-eyes-hk220-million-private-investment-national-innovation-centre?pgtype=live (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post