[HONG KONG, April 29, 2021] Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI) today launched the joint R&D Hub programme to give visionary leaders and businesses from Hong Kong’s manufacturing industries the platform to transform and capture new business opportunities through innovation and technology (I&T).

The R&D Hub programme provides vital infrastructure, funding support and access to I&T talent and expertise to FHKI’s member companies. Rapid city-wide digital transformation has left many businesses and industry sectors facing a greater urgency to develop new ideas, transform business models and create new services. The challenge is a lack of R&D resources or expertise to fully explore and capture new business that can be unlocked by the enormous untapped potential of I&T.

Located at the Bio-Informatics Centre (Building 2W) of Hong Kong Science Park, the R&D Hub provides unique and exclusive access for FHKI member companies to join the extended HKSTP I&T ecosystem and network, while also growing Hong Kong’s overall I&T community by attracting industrialists from traditional manufacturing sectors. FHKI member companies can take part in the R&D Hub programme with access to a wide range of HKSTP communal labs, facilities and value-added services.

All programme applicants are required to meet the same admission criteria as the tenants of Science Park, with 50% of the workforce to be engaged in R&D activities. Immersed into the HKSTP community, these companies can tap the I&T expertise at HKSTP and its huge partner and startup network for further co-creation and collaboration. Companies are also encouraged to leverage government support schemes to gear up their R&D and innovation capabilities, for instance, the Research Talent Hub (RTH) funding scheme administered by the Innovation and Technology Commission to support tech companies in Hong Kong and nurture local I&T talent pool.

Dr Sunny Chai, Chairman of HKSTP said, “The R&D Hub is a major catalyst for industrialists and companies with the ambition to seek a new chapter of success via innovation and also advances Hong Kong’s vision to drive city-wide re-industrialisation. HKSTP is excited to collaborate with FHKI to help industrialists accelerate their digital transformation and commercialisation of R&D-driven innovations. Fuelling the R&D talent growth is critical to a thriving I&T ecosystem, which ultimately boosts the government’s drive to transform, upgrade and create new growth for traditional industries.”

Dr Daniel Yip, Chairman of FHKI said, “R&D is the most critical producer-service in the value chain of advanced manufacturing industries, injecting business value and creating  market differentiation for manufactured products. The R&D Hub programme is an excellent platform for FHKI member companies to bolster industrial innovation by tapping into the support services and facilities of HKSTP, as well as to foster industrialisation of R&D outcomes by collaborating with the technology enterprises in the Park community. We look forward to seeing more Hong Kong manufacturers engaging in high technology and high value-added industries, and thereby propelling Hong Kong towards re-industrialisation.”

The R&D programme welcomes companies of different sizes and industry sectors, such as biopharmaceutical, electronics and food & beverage, to apply. Companies with a clear R&D objective, an ambition to transform existing business models or those seeking to spin off new business operations are an ideal fit for the R&D Hub.

About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

Comprising Science Park, InnoCentre and Industrial Estates, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is a statutory body dedicated to building a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem to connect stakeholders, nurture technology talents, facilitate collaboration, and catalyse innovations to deliver social and economic benefits to Hong Kong and the region.

Established in May 2001, HKSTP has been driving the development of Hong Kong into a regional hub for innovation and growth in several focused clusters including Electronics, Information & Communications Technology, Green Technology, Biomedical Technology, Materials and Precision Engineering. We enable science and technology companies to nurture ideas, innovate and grow, supported by our R&D facilities, infrastructure, and market-led laboratories and technical centres with professional support services. We also offer value added services and comprehensive incubation programmes for technology start-ups to accelerate their growth.

Technology businesses benefit from our specialised services and infrastructure at Science Park for applied research and product development; enterprises can find creative design support at InnoCentre; while skill-intensive businesses are served by our three industrial estates at Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long. More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.

About Federation of Hong Kong Industries

Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI) was established in 1960 to promote and foster the interests of Hong Kong’s industrial and business communities. Representing manufacturing and associated businesses from 32 industry groups,  FHKI  brings together like-minded entrepreneurs to spearhead the advancement of Hong Kong’s industry. Through policy advocacy, professional business support services and cross-sector collaboration, FHKI strives to build a dynamic industrial ecosystem to take forward transformation and re-industrialisation of Hong Kong’s economy, sparkling new business opportunities and charting diverse paths for the younger generation. More information: www.industryhk.org.

About GBB

Headquartered in Hong Kong, Great Bay Bio (GBB) is a high-tech enterprise dedicated to applying artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies to biopharmaceutical development and other blue ocean bio-products, ultimately solving numerous pain points of biopharmaceutical industry, including high failure rates, long development timeline and high costs. Since the company’s establishment, it has obtained massive data from conventional biologics development in its 3000 m2 CMC facilities which bolster advance equipment from world-renowned manufacturers. GBB has also successfully brought a number of biologic products to NDA stage, some of which are classified as national class I innovative drugs. Currently, the company has created the intelligent centralized database, where deep learning is being performed to create next generation of AI-enabled bioprocessing ecosystem. To learn more, please visit http://www.greatbay-bio.com.