Private-sector innovation can drive Hong Kong’s green tech, green finance push
- Hong Kong’s private sector has what it takes to break new ground and put the city on the map, provided the government understands how to pitch these breakthroughs and take a wider view of showcasing the city’s innovation and technology
Hong Kong has pockets of excellence in green tech that attract commercial attention. This is a step beyond start-ups. While the government is keen to support new firms, it must also keep an eye on those that have moved beyond that stage because they need specific attention.
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The tech is green biotechnology, bioengineering and material science. Ecoinno has now set up production on the mainland, which also needs a continuing infusion of talent.
There is a small, brisk industry in Hong Kong that few people focus on. This industry has a deep understanding of marine electrical work, and the future of the yachting industry is being green.
The commonality among the above examples is that they are all known to different parts of the government but perhaps not yet seen in the wider context of Hong Kong’s green tech potential. The HKRITA and Ecoinno are material science innovators. They receive public funding, but they are no longer start-ups. They have struggled and grown. What should be next for them?
While it is a community effort, the Clean Waterways Initiative is known to the Marine Department and Environmental Protection Department because the boats are performing a public function. There has yet to be recognition that there is innovative potential within the private sector that could be more widely used and promoted.
How might the HKRITA, Ecoinno and even fitting out harbour craft fit into the context of green finance? Green finance is about increasing financial flows from the public and private sector so green businesses can flourish. The flows can be in the form of credit and loans from banks, as well as funding from investors and insurance.
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Perhaps a good first step is to include all three examples – and discover others like them – in the GreenTech Week proposed in this year’s budget and articulate a new narrative for Hong Kong’s green tech prowess combined with green finance ideas.
Christine Loh is chief development strategist at the Institute for the Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a visiting scholar at Anderson School of Management, UCLA