Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivers a speech at the 40th Anniversary Faculty Gala Dinner hosted by the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Jan 13, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is determined to develop the city into a premier health and medical innovation hub, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Saturday.

Chan said Hong Kong has made progress in attracting strategic enterprises in the medical field, noting that AstraZeneca and several other life and health tech enterprises are among the first batch of some 30 enterprises that will establish research and development centers or production facilities in the territory.

Chan said a key pillar to this vision is to establish Hong Kong as an internationally-recognized drug and medical device regulatory authority

“Our vision is this: Beyond the know-how, investments, talent and job opportunities that they will bring to Hong Kong, these enterprises will gather their upstream, midstream, and downstream partners and associates here, forming a vibrant industry cluster in the city,” Chan said in a speech at the CU Medicine 40th Anniversary Faculty Gala Dinner.   

He said a key pillar to this vision is to establish Hong Kong as an internationally-recognized drug and medical device regulatory authority.   

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“We have launched the new ‘1+’ mechanism in drug approval, and been making progress in the establishment of the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation,” Chan said.

He said this will complement the many other efforts to create a booming life and health technology industry in Hong Kong.

“Obviously, Hong Kong has our unique advantages: Not only do we have the expertise and talent, strong basic research capability, but also our seamless integration of finance and technology,” Chan said.

“We are Asia's venture capital center and No. 2 private equity funds hub, just behind the mainland, and our listing platform is top class,” he said.

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Chan also pointed out that SAR’s unique status as a gateway to the Greater Bay Area, the Chinese mainland and Asian markets.

“All the more so, the institutional strengths under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle that protect intellectual property rights; and, more recently, the access to both international and mainland data,” Chan said.

“Looking ahead, there is vast room for collaboration between such enterprises and our medical schools in research, clinical trials and much more,” he added.