Sun Dong: Hong Kong government may allocate an additional three hundred million Hong Kong dollars to optimize the "Digital Transformation Support Program".

On February 25th, Professor Sun Dong, the Secretary for Innovation and Technology of Hong Kong, responded to questions from legislators by stating that the Digital Policy Office under the Innovation and Technology Bureau of Hong Kong provides funding through the "Digital Transformation Support Pilot Scheme," which is administered by Cyberport as the executing agency. The scheme aims to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the catering, retail, tourism, and personal services sectors in applying existing digital solutions in three categories (e-payment and in-store sales, online promotion, and customer management systems) through a one-on-one matching funding model (with a funding limit of HK$50,000), in order to accelerate the digital transformation of businesses. Since the launch of the pilot scheme which received HK$500 million in funding from the Hong Kong Legislative Council in early 2024, the response has been positive. So far, funding has been granted to 8,799 small and medium enterprises in Hong Kong, with the retail sector (55%), catering sector (34%), personal services sector (11%), and tourism sector (0.8%) being the main beneficiaries. The average amount of funding approved per application is approximately HK$49,000. In addition, in November 2016, the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong launched the "Technology Voucher Program" to support non-listed local businesses/institutions in using technology services and solutions to enhance productivity or upgrade business processes to strengthen their long-term competitiveness. Each approved project under the program can receive funding of up to 75% of the approved total project cost (with a cumulative funding cap of HK$600,000 per enterprise/institution). A total of 38,440 applications are planned to be approved under the program, with an average funding amount of approximately HK$175,800 per approved application benefiting 35,805 enterprises/institutions. The industries primarily involved in approved projects include wholesale and retail (36%), restaurants and hotels (8%), engineering (7%), personal care services (6%), and import/export trade (5%). Professor Sun Dong pointed out that since the launch of the pilot scheme, Cyberport has been collecting, analyzing, and monitoring the progress and effectiveness of SMEs that have received funding in applying digital solutions through various means, such as application reports submitted by SMEs and surveys. Overall, SMEs that have received funding have reported that the pilot scheme has helped reduce operating costs, improve efficiency, and increase customer numbers, meeting the expected goals of the program. In light of the positive response from SMEs, the "Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address" announced that the Hong Kong government will allocate additional resources to optimize the pilot scheme to further encourage SMEs to adopt existing basic digital solutions to enhance competitiveness and strengthen information security. To assess the effectiveness of the Technology Voucher Program on the funded businesses/institutions, the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong requires businesses/institutions to submit evaluation reports six months after project completion to evaluate whether the projects have improved productivity or upgraded business processes. For completed projects, the majority of applicants believe that the projects have helped enhance the competitiveness of their businesses/institutions, with specific benefits including saving manpower, time and/or costs, increasing turnover, and upgrading/transforming/simplifying business processes. The Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong conducted a comprehensive review of the Technology Voucher Program in 2024 and decided to halt acceptance of new applications for the program after December 31, 2024, as the program had achieved its initial objectives. Considering the continuous strengthening of support for different industries by the Hong Kong government in recent years, multiple policy bureaus and departments have introduced more targeted funding schemes according to the specific circumstances or business needs of each industry. Therefore, the Hong Kong government is currently researching optimization of the pilot scheme. Besides planning to incorporate artificial intelligence and network security digital solutions, the government will also determine the funding model, scope, amount, and implementation details of the new round of the program based on the latest transformation needs of SMEs, market product supply and prices, public financial situation, operational experiences, etc., requiring an additional funding of HK$300 million. The goal is to launch the optimized pilot scheme after consulting the Legislative Council in the second half of this year. The Hong Kong government has been assisting local businesses in various industries including retail and catering, especially SMEs, in upgrading and enhancing competitiveness through different funding schemes. Among them, the "Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund)" supports non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in developing business with 40 selected economies that have signed free trade agreements and/or promotion and protection of investment agreements with Hong Kong. Furthermore, the "SME Development Fund" supports business organizations and professional bodies in implementing projects to enhance competitiveness, including assisting enterprises in upgrading and transforming. As of the end of January 2026, the BUD Fund has approved approximately 12,800 applications involving approximately HK$7.9 billion in funding, with about half of the funding dedicated to projects promoting upgrading and transformation; while the SME Development Fund has approved 515 applications totaling approximately HK$900 million in funding.