Hong Kong's Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) has successfully drawn 124 key enterprises to the city across six batches, securing an anticipated total investment of HK$73 billion and an expected 25,000 jobs.
Bryan Peng, executive director of OASES said the first five batches have outperformed expectations, with actual investment of HK$22.5 billion exceeding targets by 30 percent and 8,000 jobs created, 17 percent above projections.
Of the 124 firms, 52 percent are listed and 18 per cent are preparing initial public offerings, while 73 percent have set up regional or global headquarters and 87 per cent have established research and development (R&D) centers in Hong Kong, Peng said.
Overseas firms now make up half of the latest batch, and the office will step up efforts to attract more foreign companies, he added.
MiniMax(0100) vice president Yan Yijun said the Chinese artificial intelligence enterprise, which went public in Hong Kong this year, has over 300 million users globally and plans to use the city as a hub to expand into Southeast Asia and deepen research ties with local universities.
Doris Kwok, deputy general manager of Tianqi Lithium(9696), a new energy materials company, said the group will set up its first overseas R&D centre at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park this year, focused on battery materials, and plans to grow its Hong Kong team from 9 to over 40 by year-end.
Sam Su, chief marketing officer of Shanghai Sunmi Technology(6810), a commercial IoT AI solutions provider, said the company plans to invest HK$200-300 million over three years to build a global data asset headquarters and roll out an AI demonstration store in Hong Kong later this year.
Effie Zhang
