Artificial intelligence is driving Hong Kong’s next chapter in attracting global investment, with the city well positioned for talent and innovation, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday.
Global private capital investment in AI had already exceeded US$190 billion this year, signalling a structural shift that showed AI was a “powerful enabler” across sectors, Chan said in his opening address at the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit.
Hong Kong would develop AI as a core industry and promote it as an enabler to upgrade traditional sectors by leveraging top local universities and the capabilities of the Greater Bay Area, which includes Hong Kong, Macau and nine other cities in southern China, Chan said.
“Hong Kong is where you want to invest” as it was making strides in building a vibrant and globally connected AI ecosystem, he added.
Chan noted that Hong Kong had already attracted leading enterprises in the field via its incentive schemes and funding programmes. The Hong Kong Investment Corporation, the government’s investment arm, has invested or co-invested in AI companies, including start-ups.
The city also rolled out the AI Talent Connect initiative to attract talent from around the world.
“Amid geopolitical tensions, an increasing number of [Chinese AI] researchers are coming here, using Hong Kong as their base for academic research and application of research outcomes,” Chan said.
The bay area was a region where AI could be directly and seamlessly applied, tested and validated in real-world industrial settings, he added.
In addition, a series of reforms by the Hong Kong stock exchange supported more new-economy companies in their listing plans, including pre-revenue biotech and specialist tech firms, as well as those with a weighted voting rights structure – popular with many tech founders who tend to own small but controlling stakes in their companies.
New economy companies’ share of market capitalisation in Hong Kong more than doubled to 35 per cent this year from 16 per cent in 2017, while their share of initial public offering proceeds tripled to 45 per cent from 2018 through mid-2025.
The city’s capital markets remained poised for expansion, driven by China’s continued development and technological progress, according to Chan.
Currently, the combined market capitalisation of the Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges was equal to China’s entire gross domestic product, while the value of US stock markets was more than double America’s economic output, the financial secretary noted.
“AI, sustainability and innovation in finance demonstrate the agility, creativity and innovative spirit of Hong Kong in navigating changing dynamics in the global and regional economic landscape,” Chan said. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
