National industrial strategies, which were actively studied and debated in the wake of the phenomenal success of Japan’s industrial economy in the 1980s, are once again attracting global attention, in large part due to the increasing emphasis on industrial policy in the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China.
In August 2022, US President Joe Biden signed two bills, Chips and science And that Inflation Control Lawoffered billions of dollars in grants, loans and tax incentives to revitalize America’s semiconductor manufacturing industry and accelerate the country’s greening.
“New high-quality production capacity“Growth” has been at the heart of China’s economic credo since President Xi Jinping began promoting it as an “engine of high-quality growth” in September 2023. The goal is to promote the development of “strategic industries” and “future industries.” To pursue these goals, China is The largest investment fund in history It will inject $47.5 billion into supporting the semiconductor industry.
Hong Kong had little incentive to invest in technology or specific industrial sectors when its free-market economic model based on free trade worked well. 1997 Asian Financial CrisisAt the time, Hong Kong’s light industry had relocated to mainland China, and Hong Kong had become a primarily service-oriented economy. As local consumption and regional demand for Hong Kong services plummeted, the economy fell into recession.
Beijing tried to rescue Hong Kong in 2003. Waves of visitors Listing of blue-chip companies from mainland China Hong Kong Stock ExchangeSince joining the developing world economy, mainland China has enjoyed a long period of uninterrupted high-speed growth. World Trade Organization 2001. It could be said that Hong Kong did not need to relearn how to make something, riding on a surge in demand for services from mainland China’s newly prosperous society.
A screen showing JD.com’s listing is displayed outside the trading hall of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on June 18, 2020. Photo: Xinhua
of 2008 Global Financial Crisis Hong Kong was forced to rethink the need to develop new industries, but no effort was made to restructure industry or make serious investments in technology. Department of Innovation, Technology and Industry As of 2015, little progress has been made in formulating a comprehensive industrial policy. Billions of dollars have been spent since then, but the emergence of new technology-based industries remains a pipe dream.
Mainland China’s service economy, transport infrastructure and technological innovation have improved significantly, making it more competitive than Hong Kong in the provision of these services, except in the high-end legal, professional and business sectors.
Faced with an existential need to diversify, the government focused on ambitious projects to overcome the main obstacles preventing the development of large-scale technology-based industries: land, capital and human resources.
Pedestrians cross a road in Central, one of Hong Kong’s main business districts, on February 20. Photo: Mei Tse
The government is doing everything it can to create more land for technology development. The two-hectare site at Sandy Ridge is It was originally planned The building constructed to house a crematorium and ossuary complex will be repurposed as a data center.
Also, 28 hectare site The site currently used as a sewage treatment plant in Sha Tin will be transformed into a technology development site. The area, together with the planned land reclamation, 60 hectares of land The facility, located in Ma Liushui, will create an additional 88 hectares of land for technology development.
If the government follows this example, there could be more land available for technology development. Airport Authority Use land from mainland cities Yuegang Development Zone For technological development, the Airport Authority’s logistics center in Dongguan has acquired land at a more reasonable price, enabling seamless transportation of goods from mainland China to Hong Kong’s airport.
A worker takes a photo of a cargo wharf in Dongguan, from where mainland China’s goods will be sent to Hong Kong under the Airport Authority’s sea and air cargo transportation plan, on May 17, 2023. Photo by Mei Tse.
More funding goes into technology projects New Capital Investment Entrants SchemeUnder the scheme, selected applicants will be required to allocate 10 percent of the required investment of HK$30 million to technology projects selected by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation.
This Administration has undertaken the boldest and most direct intervention in the economy to jump-start the technology industry. Resources are being mobilized on an unprecedented scale. Success will depend on the market picking up the ball and running.
Regina Yip Lau Sok-Yee is Chairperson of the Executive Council and a member and chairperson of the New People’s Party.
