Will Hong Kong innovation scheme enrich investors rather than drive tech ideas?
Preferential terms on the table for private partners in government investment initiative could make it little more than a get-rich-quick scheme, experts say
A new scheme that the government is pumping billions of dollars into to stimulate private investment in Hong Kong tech start-ups has come under scrutiny, with critics saying it has no clear aims and can be exploited to enrich investors rather than drive innovation.
Financial and business experts told the Post that the government was placing itself in an unfavourable position under the terms of an agreement to be signed with investment partners applying for the scheme.
The initiative lacked clear targets or broader policy support, they said, which would limit the benefits of the money poured in.
At the centre of the controversy is the HK$2 billion (US$255 million) Innovation and Technology Venture Fund set up last year under the government’s Innovation and Technology Commission. The commission has been searching for venture capital partners to co-invest in 40 to 50 local start-ups at a ratio of about 1:2.
The commission said it had received 14 applications from interested investors in January, and internal assessments of the candidates would begin this month, with results to be announced before the end of the second quarter.
