Innovation and technology is a new engine to power the sustainable and diversified economic development of Hong Kong. In the 2017-18 Budget, Mr. Paul Chan, the Financial Secretary, announced a reservation of $10 billion, along with a series of measures, to support and promote the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong.

The key measures include setting up a $2 billion Innovation and Technology Venture Fund (ITVF) to encourage private investment in local I&T start-ups. By co-investing in local I&T start-ups on a matching basis of about one to two, the government is thereby injecting new capital and energy into technology start-ups in Hong Kong. The launch of a $500 million Innovation and Technology Fund for Better Living to finance I&T projects aims to improve people's daily lives and benefit the elderly or the underprivileged.

To encourage the development of distributed ledger technology (DLT), the Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and a number of banks continue to collaborate in exploring the feasibility of applying DLT, while ASTRI will publish a second white paper on DLT in the latter half of this year, following its first white paper released last year, covering the viability of employing DLT in property valuation information management, trade financing and digital identity management. The cybersecurity initiatives on FinTech previously announced, including The Cyber Resilience Assessment Framework, Professional Development Programme and Cyber Intelligence Sharing Platform under the HKMA's Cybersecurity Fortification Initiative, were also highlighted.

At the same time, some initiatives on promoting re-industrialisation enabled by I&T, including $8.2 billion in support for the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) to build an Advanced Manufacturing Centre and a Data Technology Hub in Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate, as well as to establish an Inno Space for the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) to turn innovative and technological ideas into industrial designs or products, were also reiterated. For details of the Budget 2017-18, please visit: http://www.budget.gov.hk/2017/eng/index.html