Exclusive | Hong Kong to launch HK$5 billion tech fund in August, finance chief reveals
- Paul Chan tells Post government hopes new measures will help future local unicorns reach their full potential
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Hong Kong will launch a fund worth HK$5 billion (US$637 million) next month to support local tech companies and attract foreign start-ups, the city’s finance chief has told the Post.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the government hoped the Strategic Tech Fund would fill the gap in series A and series B financing for start-ups and help convince investors to back projects by Hong Kong tech entrepreneurs.
Series A refers to a start-up’s first major venture capital financing, while Series B refers to further and larger investments from corporations or institutional investors.
Countries such as China, the United States and Singapore have been rolling out measures to attract talent and money to their tech industry, with the latter’s Temasek investment company injecting an estimated US$500 million into the city state’s sector in the first half of last year.
In his budget speech in February, Chan announced the Strategic Tech Fund and said he would invite the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation along with Cyberport to identify tech enterprises “of strategic value to Hong Kong, and investment opportunities conducive to enriching the technology ecosystem”.
