HK Has Scope to Harness Innovation And Technology OpportunitiesHong Kong will be able to harness opportunities afforded by innovation and technology to create economic opportunities, to add value to its economic activities and to strengthen its competitiveness in a globalized economy.This was stated by Francis Ho, commissioner for innovation and technology of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), at a year-end press conference Wednesday. Ho said that technology manifests itself as goods, services, processes and infrastructure. Apart from these opportunities, the scope for Hong Kong to add value to technology-based activities in Asia is enormous. "This could take a variety of forms, from financial services, marketing, technology transfer to niche technology services, such as clinical trials and research in the bio-medical field," said Ho. He pointed out that since its establishment in July 2000, the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) has focused on making innovation and technology a sustainable development contributing to Hong Kong's global competitiveness. While conceding that there may not be a single quick fix strategy to turn Hong Kong into a regional innovation and technology hub, Ho was confident that the government's continued commitment, coupled with a focused approach and pragmatic programs to lay a sound foundation, would help Hong Kong develop towards this end. Turning to ITC's priorities for 2001, Ho emphasized the importance to sustain the current momentum and make use of beneficial effects arising from innovation and technology towards productivity and competitiveness enhancement. "Not only must we promote the notion of 'innovation' in industry and the community, but also explore ways to ensure that the momentum is passed onto our industrial base in Southern China and to strengthen Hong Kong's complementarity with the mainland," Ho said. |
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