Lcq10 Promotion New Tender

Following is a question by Professor the Hon Sunny Tan and a written reply by the Secretary for Innovation Technology and Industry Professor Sun Dong in the Legislative Council today October 28

Question

The Administration launched the New Industrialisation Funding Scheme NIFS renamed from Reindustrialisation Funding Scheme effective from October 2023 and the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme in July 2020 and September 2024 respectively with a view to advancing new industrialisation in Hong Kong and accelerating the development of the innovation and technology industry In this connection will the Government inform this Council

1 of the numbers of applications received and approved cases the total amount of matching grant approved as well as the number of new smart production lines or facilities established in Hong Kong since the launch of the two schemes with the above data provided in tabular form

2 given that the Innovation and Technology Commission streamlined the vetting and assessment procedures of the NIFS in June last year to shorten the time taken for vetting and approval of applications seeking funding support of no more than 28 million of the effectiveness of such measures including the reduction in the average time taken for vetting and approval the approval rates for small and mediumsized enterprises SMEs and feedback from the industry what specific measures will be put in place in the future to further optimise the application procedures so as to attract more local manufacturers and SMEs to upgrade and transform through the NIFS and

3 given that the authorities will announce within this year the mediumtolongterm development plan for new industrialisation in Hong Kong with a view to accelerating the growth of strategically valuable emerging industries what specific strategies and supporting measures the authorities have in place to promote the development of emerging industries while at the same time consolidating the foundation of traditional industries with competitive edge such as textiles and apparel and guiding them towards highend smart and green upgrading whether the authorities will formulate key performance indicators to monitor the effectiveness

Reply

President

The Government has been committed to developing a new industrialisation system with Hong Kong characteristics The First FiveYear Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 2026 2030 sets out four major directions for industrial development including fostering the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries by making use of innovation and technology developing and strengthening emerging industries of strategic value planning for future industries and better developing producer services

Having consulted the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau the reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Sunny Tan is as follows

1 The New Industrialisation Funding Scheme NIFS provides funding support on a 1Government2enterprise matching basis for enterprises to set up new smart production lines in Hong Kong The maximum funding support for each project is onethird of the total project cost or 15 million whichever is lower

The New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme NIAS provides funding support on a 1Government2enterprise matching basis for enterprises engaging in life and health technology artificial intelligence and data science as well as advanced manufacturing and new energy technologies to set up new smart production facilities in Hong Kong Each enterprise may receive up to 200 million in funding

Relevant figures on the two schemes are tabulated as follows





NIFS
NIAS


Number of applications Note
138
20


Number of supported applications announced Note
83
involving nearly 150 smart production lines
9


Funding amount
about 500 million
about 13 billion


Applicants matching fund
about 12 billion
about 3 billion


Total investment amount
about 17 billion
about 43 billion



Note Does not include withdrawn applications

2 Since the implementation of the enhancement measure in 2025 to streamline the documentation requirements and assessment procedures for NIFS applications seeking funding support of no more than 28 million the Innovation and Technology Commission ITC have processed 11 such applications including 10 submitted by small and mediumsized enterprises and they were all supported by the vetting committee The average time for applicants to be notified of the vetting results upon submission of all necessary documents had been shortened to 21 working days This has enabled applicants to kickstart their various tasks under the project as early as possible and was welcomed by the industry The ITC will continue to review the operation of the NIFS and introduce enhancement measures as and when appropriate

3 The Government plans to release the mediumtolongterm development plan for new industrialisation the Plan in Hong Kong within this year setting out a new industrialisation development pathway centred on high technology high valueadded activities On the one hand it will actively foster strategic emerging industries including life and health technology artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing as well as future industries such as embodied intelligence and biomanufacturing On the other hand it will focus on consolidating and upgrading traditional industries with competitive edge including textiles and garments In addition the Government will promote dualindustrydriven development placing equal emphasis on manufacturing and producer services The Plan will set out the relevant development objectives and policy measures

Innovation and technology development is the driving force behind the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries The Government will continue to support various research and development RD institutions through the Innovation and Technology F