John Lee Champions Hong Kong as Ultimate Launchpad for Mainland Unicorns

Key Points

• Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu delivered remarks at the Global Unicorn Conference, positioning Hong Kong as the premier gateway for mainland tech ventures 12
• Hong Kong's innovation flagships—Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport—offer comprehensive support including incubation programs, funding matching, and infrastructure 123
• Approximately 20 unicorns have emerged from Hong Kong over the past decade, demonstrating the city's world-class entrepreneurial environment 1234
• The HZMB Hong Kong Park in the Northern Metropolis has attracted over 90 tech institutions, with more than 100 companies signing contracts to station there 1234
• Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, announced the "Industry-Academia-Research 1+ Scheme" has approved 73 projects and targets 30 unicorns by 2032 4
• Hong Kong hosts over 11,000 mainland and overseas companies and more than 5,200 startups, both record highs 4
• The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster ranks first globally, enabling efficient flows of talent, capital, and data 4
• Government has allocated HK$1.5 billion to upgrade the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund, with a new fund completing fundraising last month 4
• A forthcoming HK$10 billion Industry Guidance Fund will partner with industry to create a HK$40 billion mother fund focusing on five major sectors 4

Why It Matters