RAISe+ results will be published soon: Paul Chan
Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Tuesday said the government will soon release the results of a scheme aimed at promoting the commercialisation of scientific research results and matching university projects with reliable investors. At the Greater Bay Area Science Forum - Hong Kong Forum at the University of Hong Kong, Chan said the authorities have been rolling out various measures to promote the commercialisation of scientific research results. One of the measures, he said, is the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+) that was launched last October and is aimed at promoting collaboration between the government, universities, as well as the technology and research industries. "I am very pleased to report to you that the results of the first round of evaluation results of the scheme will be published within this month, and we will fund over 20 projects covering various fields, including health and medical sciences, new materials, new energy, and artificial intelligence robots et cetera,” Chan told the participants. He added that authorities will also conduct more collaboration with cities in the Greater Bay Area, especially the manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, to create a vigorous technology and innovation ecosystem, while matching global capital with scientific institutions and universities. Separately, Chan said the government will prepare and establish a third InnoHK research and development cluster in the second half of this year, to ramp up the SAR's tech transition. The new cluster will focus on advanced manufacturing, materials, energy, and sustainable development, while the existing clusters focus on healthcare-related technologies, artificial intelligence, and robotics. “Hong Kong, as an international financial centre, could play a positive role in guiding funds by being a ‘super connector’. The innovation and technology industries as well as the finance industry in the Greater Bay Area can support each other, and they are equivalent to combining the competitive strengths of the San Francisco Bay Area and the New York Bay Area,” Chan said. The finance chief added that over 50 key enterprises, many in the innovation and tech fields, have been attracted to the SAR since late 2022, and it's estimated they will bring in investments worth more than HK$40 billion and create 13,000 jobs in the coming few years.  Some 120,000 individuals have recently arrived in the SAR via the government’s various talent import schemes, with 20 percent of them working in the innovation and technology industries, Chan said.