The Hong Kong SAR government has set a goal to double the ratio of R&D spending to GDP within the next five years. And a long-term push for it, according to the spending initiatives announced by the SAR’s financial secretary in his budget speech on Wednesday, has just been announced.

The innovation and technology sector is in for a 50 billion HK dollars (6.4 billion US dollars) boost, almost three times of that set aside in the previous annual budget.

Hong Kong's Science Park, one of the city’s major incubators for startup companies, was granted a major slice of the funding package and it is set to play a leading role in the government's drive to turn the city into an innovation and technology (IT) hub. Both the government and organizations believe that a good IT ecosystem is prerequisite.

Albert Wong, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, said the Park is now home to more than 600 companies. To help the companies with product development and commercialization, the Park not only provides them with offices, labs and research facilities, but also connects them with industry investors, really making them public.

Innovation is also thriving on campus. Take the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) as an example, a group of students are consistently upgrading their Solar Car called SOPHIE, a creative idea and action they started some ten years ago. The solar-powered electric car is now on the sixth model and can reach a top speed of 110 km/h. Sophie VI got a fourth place in the cruiser class of the World Solar Challenge 2017.

The team hopes to go further with their solar car and to share their innovative ideas with the automobile industry. They are invited to showcase the car on the streets of Hong Kong and in the HK Science Museum, letting the public, especially young people, get a glimpse of how innovation and technology can generate new possibilities.

Hong Kong’s new initiatives to drive innovation came amid long-standing criticism that the city lacked resources dedicated to technology and innovation. According to the latest Global Innovation Index, Hong Kong has slipped for the fourth year in a row, ranking 16th globally – its lowest ever position. But changes will soon be made with increasing investment and government budget pouring into the sector.

The HK SAR government's support for innovation and technology includes a 1.2 billion US dollar university research fund, an additional tax reduction for R&D expenditure, and the goal to double ratio of R&D spending to GDP by 2022.

Hong Kong is also expected to speed up resource-sharing and talent exchanges with the Chinese mainland. The upcoming Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the 87-hectare Lok Ma Chau Loop between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be four times that of the HK Science Park. Plus, a world-class technology hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Great Bay Area is expected to bring more opportunities.