Shenzhen-HK loop to get 150 hi-tech projects

A total of 150 hi-tech projects will be developed in the Lok Ma Chau Loop which is being transformed into a science and technology cooperation zone between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, a Shenzhen official says.

The Shenzhen Park is promoting projects by industries such as information technology, quantum technology and biotech, Shenzhen vice-mayor Huang Min said yesterday.

The 3.89-square-kilometer cooperation zone was divided into two parks, with Shenzhen Park having an area of 3.02 square kilometers and Hong Kong Park taking 0.87 square kilometers.

It was necessary to take the initiative to strengthen the convergence with the planning of the Hong Kong Park, Huang said, adding that the future development would also make good use of underground space.

In 2017, Shenzhen and the SAR government signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly developing the area, aiming to create a key base for research clusters.

This came as Professor Tam Kar-yan, dean of the business school at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said Hong Kong needed to review its economic policy and create a new economic pillar.

If the city wanted to be more technology-driven, the government should take the lead in launching large-scale tech projects to gather talent, Tam said.

Meanwhile, GlobalFoundries, the world's third-largest contract chipmaker, opened a US$4 billion (HK$31.2 billion) semiconductor fabrication plant in Singapore on Tuesday, as part of a major global manufacturing expansion.

The US chipmaker's new facility of 23,000 square meters will be able to produce 450,000 300-millimeter wafers a year at full capacity, expected by 2025 to 2026, and will create 1,000 jobs, said the company's Singapore general manager, Tan Yew Kong.

Separately, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu met with the governor of Hainan Province, Liu Xiaoming, yesterday, welcoming Hainan's decision to issue bonds in Hong Kong again after the province issued offshore yuan-denominated local government bonds in the city in October last year.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the issue, which includes biodiversity-themed green bonds this year, will help broaden and deepen Hong Kong's green and sustainable bond spectrum and promote a more robust market.