Seventeen companies have signed a deal to set up or expand operations in Hong Kong amid the government’s push to boost the tech sector, including iFLYTEK, a Chinese artificial intelligence giant which has been under US sanctions since 2019.
The Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) held a signing ceremony on Monday afternoon, inking agreements with representatives of the 17 firms, which will set up their headquarters or new offices in Hong Kong or expand their business in the city.
The city’s financial chief Paul Chan gives a speech during the ceremony for partnership with strategic companies on Wednesday. Photo: GovHK.
Among the companies, 15 are from mainland China, including AI developer Baidu Ai Cloud, animation company China Year, new energy vehicle company BeyonCa and robotics companies Pudu Robotics and Horizon Robotics.
Tao Xiaodong, CEO of Xunfei Healthcare, a subsidiary of iFlytek, told local media outlets that iFlytek would invest a total of HK$4 million in Hong Kong over the next five years and establish a headquarters in the city.
AI developer Xunfei Healthcare hoped to cooperate with Hong Kong’s public and private medical sector, assisting doctors in writing medical records, and recommending diagnostic plans with AI systems, Tao added.
iFlytek’s office in Beijing. File photo: Wiki Commons.
The executive said he hoped that by establishing an office and business in the city, the company could become more international.
iFlytek was among the first batch of companies sanctioned by the US government during Republican president Donald Trump’s first term. In October 2019, the company was added to the Entity List by the US Commerce Department for alleged human rights violations and abuses against Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other members of Muslim minority groups in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang.
In July, Nikkei Asia reported that the company had suffered from “ultimate pressure exerted by the US” as it was not able to use “even a piece of a GPU from the US.”
Representatives from strategic I&T enterprises sign an agreement to set up offices or expand operations in Hong Kong on March 20, 2024. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
American company Digital Domain and French company Prophesee were also among the 17 firms announced on Monday.
17,000 jobs
During the ceremony on Monday, Hong Kong’s Secretary of Finance Paul Chan said that since the establishment of OASES in 2022, a total of 67 “strategic companies” had been attracted to set up new offices or expand their business in the city.
Chan said these companies were expected to invest around HK$42 billion in Hong Kong in the coming few years, generating around 17,000 jobs.
In his 2022 Policy Address, Lee announced that authorities would try and attract capital and enterprises to Hong Kong by setting up OASES and a fund to invest in potential companies.
