HKPC Published 2022-23 Annual Report Tell Good Stories of Hong Kong I&T Accelerating New Industrialisation

(Hong Kong, 3 November 2023) The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) published today its Annual Report 2022-23 (Annual Report), which was tabled at the Legislative Council on 25 October. Themed “Accelerating New Industrialisation”, the Annual Report features a generative artificial intelligence (AI) created cover for the first time, utilising technology to present a futuristic and innovative outlook on the future of new industrialisation. The Annual Report focused on the six key initiatives in HKPC. Through making the industry smarter by driving technology applications, nurturing talent, and implementing Government funding schemes to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in enhancing their productivity. Some major highlights of HKPC's achievements during the reported year are as follows:

• Implemented 677 new integrated service projects, over 90% of technical projects applied in industrial environment;
• Served for over 10,700 SMEs;
• 34% growth in income from “Industry 4.0” (i4.0) related service;
• Consolidated Service Income reached HK$752 million, income grew by 13% year on year; and
• HKPC’s Government Funding Schemes Management Centre provided secretarial support for 11 Government funding schemes. The total approved Government funding amount reached around HK$3.5 billion in the reporting year, of which over HK$1.8 billion had been disbursed to applicants.

Hon Sunny TAN, Chairman of HKPC, said, “HKPC will continue to uphold the spirit of pursuing innovation and excellence and will remain steadfast in our promise to deliver values to SMEs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), so that the 'Made in Hong Kong' brand retains its shine and brightness. The Chief Executive announced in the 2023 Policy Address to continuously promote new industrialisation and move ahead with the ‘Northern Metropolis’ as the new engine for growth, enhancing Hong Kong's overall competitiveness. The principle of ‘Leveraging Hong Kong's Advantages, Meeting the Country's Needs’ will foster innovative practices in the field of new industrialisation. Integrating into the national new industrialisation process will undoubtedly bring infinite opportunities to Hong Kong. HKPC will continue to collaborate with the HKSAR Government in implementing measures related to innovation and technology (I&T) development, promoting Hong Kong's new industrialisation, and constructing new productivity for society.”

HKPC promoted new industrialisation development through the use of innovative technologies, to date, HKPC has successfully taken forward over 1,200 smartification projects in Hong Kong and other GBA cities, which cover over 25 industries, including AI, biotechnology, new materials, new energy, next-generation information technology, and more, achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvement; HKPC has also established the “Celesphere”, Hong Kong’s first technology hall themed in industrial metaverse, and the "New Industrialisation Development Centre" within the year to display various technology applications and solutions to help enterprises advance to smart production and improve economic efficiencies, in order to tackle problems such as high labour costs, difficulty in recruiting talent and high land-use costs. On the other hand, HKPC achieved fruitful results in terms of scientific research and development (R&D) and obtained recognition from the international I&T industry. In 2022, HKPC received a record-breaking number of 98 international, Mainland, and local awards and recognitions. Two R&D technologies have attained the General Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China’s specifications for scientific and technological achievements evaluation for the first time. Being innovative and highly practical, all of the award-winning projects have attracted widespread attention in different aspects of life, allowing the community to witness how technology improves daily life.

HKPC organised 78 industry consultation events to gather diverse perspectives and discuss future development directions in various important areas during the reported year. In supporting the upgrading and transformation of SMEs and nurturing startups, HKPC set up a series of digitalisation-integrated services to support SMEs in their digital transformation. The BIZ Expands Easy (BEE) Funding Portal, which provides enterprises with as many as 20 Government funding schemes and reaches as many as 300,000 people. In March 2023, HKPC launched the BEE@HKPC mobile app to keep enterprises abreast of the latest information anytime and anywhere; furthermore, the Digital DIY (DDIY) Portal, a one-stop online portal for digital transformation solutions widely popular among SME users, uploaded more than 150 digital solutions, providing enterprises with comprehensive support.

To cultivate and attract more talents in the I&T sector and encourage their development in this field, HKPC supports talent development across all age groups through the "FutureSkills" training courses. A total of 38,000 participants attended training courses offered by the HKPC Academy during the reported year. In December 2022, the TechEd Playground showcased the latest Technology Education (TechEd) solutions under six TechEd-themed applications, which successfully attracted over 3,000 visitors. Additionally, HKPC delivered an i4.0 certification programme for the first batch of instructors from Mainland vocational schools and established the first vocational institute in the GBA for Industry 4.0 intelligent manufacturing CPPS certificate management, assisting in the integration and pooling of the efforts of Government, industry, academic, and research sectors in other cities within the GBA. These efforts lay a solid foundation for advancing towards new industrialisation.

To download HKPC Annual Report 2022-23, please visit the HKPC website: http://u.hkpc.org/annualreport22-23_en

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HKPC 2022-23 Annual Report

Hon Sunny TAN, Chairman of HKPC, said HKPC will continue to uphold the spirit of pursuing innovation and excellence and will remain steadfast in our promise to deliver values to SMEs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area so that the 'Made in Hong Kong' brand retains its shine and brightness. The Chief Executive announced in the 2023 Policy Address to continuously promote new industrialisation and move ahead with the ‘Northern Metropolis’ as the new engine for growth, enhancing Hong Kong's overall competitiveness. The principle of ‘Leveraging Hong Kong's Advantages, Meeting the Country's Needs’ will foster innovative practices in the field of new industrialisation. Integrating into the national new industrialisation process will undoubtedly bring infinite opportunities to Hong Kong. HKPC will continue to collaborate with the HKSAR Government in implementing measures related to innovation and technology development, promoting Hong Kong's new industrialisation, and constructing new productivity for society.