Hong Kong will lose competitive edge if it stalls on San Tin Technopole: tech sector

Lawmaker Jesse Shang Hailong, who is also an adviser of SenseTime, a Hong Kong-based Chinese artificial intelligence company, said the city lacked world-class innovation and technology companies, while research and development products “could not or had not set foot” in Hong Kong.

“Without I&T development, Hong Kong does not have a future. If we don’t catch up, residents will feel like we are coming from rural areas instead of Hong Kong, [especially] when we compare ourselves to new developments in Shenzhen,” he said.

Viola Lam Yuen-lee, founder of Find Solution Ai, a local tech company founded in 2016 focusing on artificial intelligence technologies, said it was “difficult” to develop I&T businesses in Hong Kong and that many start-ups were drawn to cities in mainland and Southeast Asia.

“With such a high wage levels and rent, Hong Kong does not have enough space for I&T or start-ups,” she said.

“Cyberport and the Science Park cannot provide sufficient land,” Lam noted of the city’s existing facilities that provided office space and support to I&T companies.

Lam added that supporting start-ups was key to developing small-to-medium-sized enterprises and sustaining the city’s economic progress.

Albert Wong Hak-keung, CEO of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, pointed to the 93 per cent occupancy rate of Science Park in Pak Shek Kok and 80 per cent rate across all industrial estates as signs that Hong Kong’s I&T development was in a “golden age”.

“We are in cooperation with universities and start-ups. Many big corporations will set foot in the city,” he said.

But he agreed with Lam that land supply was tight and there was an “urgent need to develop a [larger] land base”.

“I understand the technopole will need time to develop but we should start doing it as soon as possible,” he said.

Simon Chan Sai-ming, chairman of the Cyberport Management Company, said San Tin was “the best and most mature” location for the sector’s development given its massive area and proximity to the mainland.

He added that the technopole could burnish Hong Kong’s international reputation and strengthen the city’s role in connecting the mainland with the global tech community.

The board has scheduled three other public hearings next week to gather feedback from green groups and professional bodies. Its members will then discuss how to proceed with development.

If town planning officials decide to take up the government’s rezoning suggestions, the project will be greenlit after approval by the chief executive and his advisers.