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

Lawmakers and tech professionals say city can’t afford to stall project, as Town Planning Board holds first public hearing with stakeholders

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The San Tin area in the Northern Territories that the government has earmarked for the development of the tech hub. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 6:01pm, 28 Jun 2024Updated: 8:50pm, 28 Jun 2024

Hong Kong will lose technology companies to other cities and some of its competitiveness along with them if a plan to build an innovation hub near the border with mainland China is stalled, sector professionals have warned amid opposition from green groups.

Lawmakers and tech executives on Friday called for greater urgency to develop the hub as the Town Planning Board, a statutory body that assesses land use applications, held its first public hearing on the San Tin Technopole.

The project will occupy more than 600 hectares (1,482 acres) of land, half of which has been earmarked for innovation and technology (I&T) purposes to attract leading corporations.

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.