HK$1 billion: Hong Kong sets up talent - attraction fund.

Recently, the inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong High-Talent Entrepreneurship Investment Fund and the Science and Technology Finance Forum were held in Hong Kong. According to Jiemu LP of the investment community, the Hong Kong High-Talent Entrepreneurship Investment Fund was officially launched on-site. The initial scale of the fund is HK$1 billion, focusing on cutting-edge fields such as technology, healthcare, and consumption.

It is reported that since the preparation of the fund, it has received positive responses from all sectors of society. Currently, the first batch of HK$300 million has been confirmed. The new fund has a clear goal - to support innovative talents and excellent projects. "We hope that more high-talent elites can find a stage to realize their dreams in Hong Kong."

The first phase of HK$1 billion is invested in talents starting businesses in Hong Kong

Data shows that the Hong Kong High-Talent Entrepreneurship Investment Fund was jointly initiated by Shang Hailong, the founding president of the High-Talent Pass Scheme Talent Service Association, and several founding partners.

Shang Hailong pointed out in his speech that about 8,000 high-talent individuals come to Hong Kong every month, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to find jobs with a median monthly salary of HK$50,000. Therefore, the High-Talent Pass Scheme Talent Service Association established the Hong Kong High-Talent Entrepreneurship Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd. to provide entrepreneurship support for talents coming to Hong Kong.

This time, the Hong Kong High-Talent Entrepreneurship Investment Fund was officially launched. Specifically, the initial fundraising scale of the fund reaches HK$1 billion. Aiming at using Hong Kong as a fulcrum, it focuses on cutting-edge fields such as technology, healthcare, and consumption, supports innovative talents and excellent projects, and promotes the development of new-quality productivity.

Shang Hailong said that the establishment of the fund is not only a financial measure but also an innovative practice to promote the high-quality development of Hong Kong. "We hope that through this fund, more high-talent elites can find a stage to realize their dreams in Hong Kong, and through the integration of capital and technology, help Hong Kong lead the world in the field of new-quality economy."

At the same time, Paul Chan Mo-po, the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, delivered a video speech. He said that as an international financial center, Hong Kong not only needs in-depth support from financial capital but also strong impetus from technological innovation. The establishment of the "Hong Kong High-Talent Entrepreneurship Investment Fund" is an important manifestation of Hong Kong's high-quality development.

Regarding the future development of the fund, Paul Chan put forward two expectations: First, he hopes that the fund can give full play to the function of venture capital, adhere to the principle of "investing in the early stage, small enterprises, for the long term, and in hard technology" to better support the development of Hong Kong's start-up enterprises; Second, it should give full play to the professional network of the fund to attract the world's top science and technology innovation talents and start-up enterprises to Hong Kong.

The goal of establishing a new fund to attract talents is clear. In fact, as early as 2022, to attract talents with rich work experience and high education from around the world to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government launched the "Top Talent Pass Scheme" (abbreviated as "High-Talent Pass Scheme"). As of the end of February 2025, nearly 99,000 applications had been approved.

Now, the establishment of a new fund led by the High-Talent Pass Scheme Talent Service Association is one of the supporting measures. Shang Hailong revealed that the first batch of HK$300 million in funds for the fund has been confirmed, which will focus on supporting activities such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, fintech, high-end manufacturing, and web3. He is looking forward to the relevant license being approved by the SAR government as soon as possible.

"Attracting talents and enterprises", Hong Kong makes a comeback

In this situation, Hong Kong's eagerness is obvious.

Looking back at the past few years, Hong Kong has opened its arms to global talents in an unprecedented way. Among them, the "High-Talent Pass Scheme" is undoubtedly one of the most popular talent introduction programs in Hong Kong.

The "High-Talent Pass Scheme" aims to attract high-end talents, including high-income individuals and graduates from world's top universities. To date, Hong Kong has opened talent visas to graduates from 22 mainland universities. In terms of attracting talents, Hong Kong also has policy mechanisms such as the "General Employment Policy", the "Importation of Mainland Talent Scheme", and the "Quality Migrant Admission Scheme" to fully invite top talents to develop in Hong Kong and promote the gathering of international high-end talents in Hong Kong.

Attracting talents is just the first step. Just like the establishment of this fund, the venture capital ecosystem in Hong Kong is becoming more and more active, and Hong Kong Investment Corporation has left a deep impression on the outside world.

In 2022, Hong Kong Investment Corporation was established. This is the first government-led investment company in Hong Kong - managing the HK$22 billion "Hong Kong Growth Portfolio", the HK$5 billion "Greater Bay Area Investment Fund", the HK$5 billion "Strategic Innovation and Technology Fund" established under the "Future Fund", and the newly established HK$30 billion "Co-Investment Fund". The total scale of the funds reaches HK$62 billion.

Subsequently, Hong Kong Investment Corporation has appeared behind many technology companies, including well-known projects such as Saimo Technology, ByteBridge Biosciences, Galaxy Universal, and Spark. Not long ago, through communication with Chen Jiaqi, the Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Investment Corporation, it was learned that Hong Kong Investment Corporation has invested in more than 100 projects in the past year. Behind each investment, almost every project party empowers the local industry in Hong Kong, such as setting up science and technology innovation centers, cultivating relevant talents, and cooperating to promote relevant businesses.

All these are a true portrayal of Hong Kong's pursuit of the era of science and technology innovation.

The reason is obvious: without talents, enterprises are difficult to grow; without enterprises, it is often difficult to attract the gathering of talents. Only by combining the two can a real innovation ecosystem be formed, a solid industrial foundation be cultivated in the long run, and being left behind in industrial upgrading be avoided.

Such a transformation is particularly urgent for Hong Kong. Many years ago, Hong Kong was criticized for its weak science and technology innovation genes. When technological innovation has become the core competitiveness of the current era, Hong Kong also has a sense of crisis. Just as Li Jiachao, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, has mentioned "attracting enterprises and talents" many times in the "Policy Address". On the one hand, it vigorously recruits talents, and on the other hand, it tries to attract technology companies through "fund investment promotion". It can be seen that Hong Kong's science and technology innovation layout is becoming more and more mature, and new start-up companies are emerging continuously, and it is developing into an international innovation and technology center.

This scene actually happens in every core city across the country.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Jiemu LP". Author: Wu Qiong. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.