When it comes to "rejuvenating the country through science and education", Hong Kong is at a critical juncture of fully striving for economic growth and development. Faced with uncertainties in the global geopolitical and economic landscape, Hong Kong must strive for self-improvement, develop new economic industries and enhance its core competitiveness. As an international financial, trade center and a global hub for shipping and logistics, Hong Kong cannot rely solely on its past achievements amid the rapid progress of mainland cities and neighboring regions. The national 15th Five-Year Plan supports Hong Kong in developing into an international center for innovation and technology and a global highland for gathering high-end talent. The Northern Metropolis is precisely providing the fertile ground for the two emerging industries of innovation, technology and education.
Investment promotion is the key to the success of the northern metropolis
The Northern Metropolis is Hong Kong’s "International Innovation and Technology New City". Its success is inextricably linked to investment promotion efforts. The Hetao Hong Kong Park, which officially opened in December last year, has now attracted over 60 technology enterprises and institutions to sign lease agreements, marking a promising start. However, the Hetao Area is only a part of the innovation and technology belt in the Northern Metropolis; half of the land in the adjacent San Tin Technopole will also be designated for innovation and technology development, covering an area equivalent to 17 Hong Kong Science Parks. Clearly, there is a great deal of work to be done in terms of investment promotion.
To accelerate and upgrade the development of the Northern Metropolis, we must speed up and intensify investment promotion. It would certainly be ideal for enterprises from around the world and leading tech firms to set up operations in the Northern Metropolis with enthusiasm. Nevertheless, the Chinese mainland has so far nurtured more than 600,000 technology and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, and is also home to numerous leading tech companies across Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and other cities. These cities also boast highly successful sci-tech industrial park operators, among which some enterprises are looking to expand overseas. Hong Kong should explore ways to strengthen cooperation with the mainland. The current government is results-oriented and emphasizes performance indicators – in fact, Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) on the mainland can also set performance targets to encourage them to take the initiative to engage with mainland enterprises, understand their corporate cultures and overseas expansion needs, and proactively roll out measures to attract mainland enterprises to Hong Kong.
Policies should be flexible
In fact, Hong Kong’s international advantages hold a certain appeal for mainland enterprises seeking to go global. Some leading mainland enterprises hope that the HKSAR Government can allocate land in the Northern Metropolis for them to establish production lines and R&D headquarters in Hong Kong. The government previously proposed formulating a "preferential policy package" to boost industrial development and investment, and this package must be attractive enough to flexibly utilize policy measures such as land allocation, rental concessions, tax relief and subsidies. At the same time, approval procedures should be streamlined and investors’ needs should be responded to promptly, so as not to miss the opportunity to attract investors to Hong Kong due to excessive delays.
Hong Kong needs to pursue the integrated development of education, technology and talent. In addition to allocating part of its land for the construction of the third medical school and an integrated hospital for medical education, research and clinical services, the Northern Metropolis University Town should also align with the development needs of neighboring areas including the San Tin Technopole, providing industry-university-research talent support for the innovation and technology industries in the Northern Metropolis. The Chinese mainland is home to many top universities, some of which are looking to set up research institutes in Hong Kong to attract and recruit international talent. The HKSAR Government should take a more proactive approach to engage with these universities and promote the Northern Metropolis to them.
To drive the development of the Northern Metropolis University Town, Hong Kong’s eight publicly funded universities should also take the lead. At present, all eight universities have substantial fiscal reserves; some have made investments in other countries, and a number have already established branches in mainland cities. Instead of investing outside Hong Kong, the eight universities may consider investing in the Northern Metropolis to better nurture local talent in Hong Kong. It is believed that the establishment of research institutes by the eight universities in the Northern Metropolis will also help attract other leading sci-tech researchers and their teams to develop their careers in Hong Kong. The government can offer various incentives to boost the universities’ willingness to invest in the Northern Metropolis.
For Hong Kong to develop its innovation, technology and education industries, the government has an inescapable responsibility to create favorable conditions and a vibrant ecosystem. However, building the Northern Metropolis is not a task that the government can undertake alone. Both hardware development such as infrastructure supporting facilities and funding initiatives such as government bond issuances are inseparable from the market. The government should leverage market forces, enhance public-private partnerships, enable all sectors of society to seize the development opportunities of the Northern Metropolis and jointly realize its vision.
