HK working towards cross-boundary data flow within GBA

Hong Kong is actively working towards cross-boundary data flow within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) with the support of the central authorities, Paul Chan, financial secretary of the HKSAR government, said yesterday.

Such convergence of data is not only benefitting the artificial intelligence (AI) industry but also conducive to the development of other sectors like pharmaceuticals and biomedicine, Chan said at the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit in Hong Kong.

The data-intensive AI sector is fast developing and driving revolutionary changes to financial and other businesses, he said, noting that many Chinese mainland AI firms as well as international AI companies are keen to come to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is determined to develop innovation and technology (I&T) as a core engine of growth, with the HKSAR government having invested over 200 billion Hong Kong to build, consolidate and enrich the I&T ecosystem in recent years, he said.

Hong Kong is home to numerous award-winning scholars and researchers, and tech companies at different stages of development are also looking to Hong Kong’s vibrant capital markets to realize their growth ambitions, Chan said.

“You can reasonably expect that Hong Kong will give birth to more unicorns in the next five to 10 years,” he said. “Investments in companies with such potential are certainly good deals that investors should not miss.”  MDT/Xinhua