Hong Kong is ambitious about leveraging artificial intelligence to attract global investment, with the advantages of innovation, capital, and talent, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday.
AI has become the defining keyword of the era, with global private capital investment in AI exceeding US$190 billion (HK$1.47 trillion) this year, Chan said in the 2025 Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, citing the data from the World Trade Organization.
Aligning with the 15th Five-Year Plan of developing AI in advancing Digital China, the city is expected to realize the target by a twin-engine strategy that develops AI as a core industry and promotes it as an enabler to upgrade traditional sectors, he said.
Chan noted that the government has directly invested in AI companies, start-ups, and projects, while launching initiatives like AI Talent Connect to bring more AI talent to Hong Kong.
Besides, he said Hong Kong needs to be innovative to capture the opportunities arising from changing economic fundamentals, as financial services are key enablers of innovative activities in the economy.
He pointed out that there was substantial room for the city's capital markets to grow, citing that the combined market capitalisation of the Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen stock exchanges stands at about 100 percent of China's gross domestic product, while the corresponding figure in the US is over 200 percent.
