HONG KONG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- More efforts will be put to support scientific research and innovation and technology (I&T) sectors by developing I&T infrastructure and promoting research and development, said Financial Secretary of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Paul Chan on Wednesday.
Delivering Hong Kong's annual budget Wednesday, Chan said the development of I&T will bring huge economic benefits to Hong Kong, adding that sufficient resources with a commitment of over 100 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 12.7 billion U.S. dollars) has been allocated to this area so far.
The financial chief will earmark 5.5 billion Hong Kong dollars to expand Cyberport, one of Hong Kong's key technology infrastructures, to attract more quality technology companies and start-ups to set up their offices here. The expansion project is expected to complete in 2024 at the earliest.
Chan announced that the injection of 20 billion Hong Kong dollars into the Research Endowment Fund of the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong to promote local activities is the foundation of the development of I&T.
To promote reindustrialization, Chan proposed allocating an additional 2 billion Hong Kong dollars for the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation to build dedicated facilities required by the advanced manufacturing sector in industrial estates to help more manufacturers set up operations in Hong Kong.
The HKSAR government plans to inject 2 billion Hong Kong dollars into the innovation and technology fund to launch a reindustrialization funding scheme for subsidizing manufacturers on a matching basis to help them set up smart production lines here.
"These initiatives for developing real high-end production will help reduce our economy's over-reliance on service industries," Chan said.
