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The Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) welcomed the seventh cohort of 18 strategic enterprise partners on Thursday at the OASES Enterprises Signing Ceremony, where the partnership agreement was signed electronically by Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun and representatives of the enterprises. This brings the total number of strategic partners to 142, generating a total 26,700 jobs and HK$84 billion in investment.
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Half of the new partners come from the Chinese Mainland, including 51World and AGIBOT, while the other half from other parts of the globe, including Solana, Valcambi SA and AITRICS. The businesses cover a remarkably wide range of sectors, from advanced manufacturing and new energy to artificial intelligence, life and health technology, fintech, and cultural and creative technology, with some having market capitalisation or valuation of over HK$100 billion, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his speech, reaffirming Hong Kong's role as a place where businesses, talent and ideas from around the world come together to prosper.
Chan added that the first six batches of enterprises saw impressive performance, with total investment exceeding expectations by 30 percent, while the jobs created by 34 per cent, taking up more than 2.8 million square feet of commercial and industrial space.
The seventh batch brings about over 1,600 high-end jobs focusing on research and development, which can help Hong Kong retain cultivated talents according to Peter Yan King-shun, the Director-General of the OASES, confident that the new cohort will further strengthen Hong Kong's strategic industries and enrich its I&T ecosystem, serving as "chain leaders" to cluster upstream and downstream enterprises and partners in Hong Kong. He specifically mentioned that this cohort of companies actively align with the Policy Address's aim of promoting gold as a commodity trading ecosystem, successfully attracting a leading Swiss gold trading company, Valcambi SA, and a Shenzhen-based gold enterprise, Point Gold International, to establish operations in Hong Kong. Both companies are preparing to open a gold refining supply chain compliant with LBMA international certification.
In addition, Yan added that this cohort demonstrates Hong Kong's international role in the Greater Bay Area. South Korean and Japanese companies have chosen Hong Kong as a pilot location to validate their medical AI and hospital process optimization solutions before entering the Greater Bay Area market.
He attributed the impressive performance to government officials' active promotion of Hong Kong's strategic advantages, including Chief Executive John Lee and Paul Chan, during their overseas visits to other countries; combined with focused policies that help attract overseas enterprises.
