Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Bureau: The He Tao Innovation Park gathers global wisdom, connects regional resources, and helps advance the transformation of the innovation and technology industry.

On September 8, during the SING TAO real estate development trends forum 2026 themed Leveraging the Strategic Value of He Tao: From Industry Chain to Talent Mobility, Charles Ai, Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of Hong Kong, stated that the Northern Metropolis is the new engine for Hong Kong's future economic growth, and the He Tao Hong Kong Park is the core igniter of this engine. The strategic value of He Tao is not just an industrial chain, but also a talent ecosystem that gathers global wisdom and connects resources in the Greater Bay Area, thus constructing the substantive driving force for Hong Kong's economic growth. Ai pointed out that since the opening of He Tao Hong Kong Park in December 2025, more than 100 technology enterprises and institutions have signed contracts to settle in. Currently, the resident companies include leading domestic enterprises and international pharmaceutical firms, as well as startups from the mainland, Hong Kong, and overseas. The park now has around 2,000 research personnel working there. Furthermore, to expedite the development of the park, Hong Kong launched two rounds of tenders in June and July this year, introducing eight plots to the market through private KINETIC DEV, hoping to leverage the experiences of leading technology enterprises in the private sector to accelerate the construction of an international innovation and technology ecosystem in He Tao. The strategic value of He Tao Hong Kong Park lies in transforming the innovation and technology development in Hong Kong from a past model where research institutions and universities independently conducted research projects and managed the R&D, trial production, and commercialization processes, into a complete industrial chain involving different professionals. This industrial chain can be divided into three levels, extending from He Tao Hong Kong Park to the San Tin Technology Town and finally to the Shenzhen Park across the river in Shenzhen. The first level focuses on upstream and midstream R&D and trial production conversion at He Tao Hong Kong Park. The second level is the San Tin Technology Town, which is positioned for downstream mass production and industrialization. Finally, the last level comprises the entire Greater Bay Areas advanced manufacturing base. Hong Kongs R&D achievements can connect with the manufacturing capabilities of Shenzhen and other cities in the Greater Bay Area through He Tao Hong Kong Park, forming a complete industrial chain loop of Hong Kong R&D, Bay Area manufacturing, global sales. In terms of institutional innovation, He Tao benefits from its geographical feature of one river, two banks, one zone, two parks. Each park operates according to the laws, economic, and commercial systems of its respective area, maximizing their complementary advantages. This one zone, two parks layout is unique globally. By streamlining the flow of people, logistics, capital, and datareferred to as the four flowsthe potential of He Tao will be fully unleashed. The government has announced an additional investment of HK$10 billion into the parks companies and has proposed concrete measures to relevant central ministries and commissions to facilitate cross-border capital flows for enterprises settled in He Tao Hong Kong Park. In addition, the Hong Kong government has been in close consultation with the Shenzhen municipal government and national ministries and commissions, including piloting projects for data flow to test the practical operation of filing systems, exempting evaluations, and other measures. This will provide important references for the comprehensive implementation of data and biological sample transfers across the river, ensuring the smooth flow of innovative elements in the He Tao area. In terms of attracting talent, He Tao has already taken the first step. The first batch of talent apartments in the park has been completed. The Special Administrative Region government will continue to improve existing talent attraction programs while integrating them with the Study in Hong Kong brand to attract top global research personnel and graduate students to study and work in Hong Kong. The Northern University Town development includes the districts of Hung Shui Kiu, San Tin, and Tak Koo Ling. Among them, the San Tin University Town is adjacent to the He Tao Hong Kong Park and Technology Town, positioned as an innovation platform for advanced industries such as life and health technology and artificial intelligence. He Tao Hong Kong Park will serve as the vanguard of the Northern University Town, actively attracting top local and international universities to settle in, allowing university laboratories to be situated alongside corporate R&D. From strategic positioning to industrial chain thinking, to institutional innovation and then to the talent ecosystem, He Tao radiates across the entire Northern Metropolis and further into the Greater Bay Area, forming a talent network that gathers global wisdom and connects regional resources. Coupled with the aforementioned policy measures and hardware for accelerated development, He Tao Hong Kong Park is certain to become an important strategic base supporting the national goal of becoming a technological powerhouse.