As one of six sectors highlighted in last year's policy address, innovation and technology hold the key to Hong Kong's future.
With the city moving towards an information driven, knowledge-based economy, it is necessary to step up research and development (R&D) in innovation and technology to stay competitive, says Dr Cheung Nim-kwan, CEO of Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (Astri).
The government has taken the lead in setting up the Innovation and Technology Commission, Cyberport and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks. It has also funded six R&D centres to help with further development of major areas, such as information and communications technology (ICT); nanotechnology; textile and clothing; logistics; automobile parts; and Chinese medicine.
As a publicly funded institution focusing on applied ICT research, Astri pays a great deal of attention on environmental friendliness and energy efficiency. For example, it has helped the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and the Highways Department develop light emitting diode (LED) street lamps, now being tested at the science park. The LED lamps use less energy than fluorescent ones and are free of mercury.
Astri's main business is to transfer technology - through licensing, contract services, industry collaborative programmes and other means - to its customers, including manufacturers and other R&D institutions, for commercialisation. Astri carried out about 100 technology transfer projects last year.
'Technology R&D is a globally interdependent and complex system,' Cheung says. '[Sometimes] to develop a new technology, we need to access the patent rights of existing technology, so that we can further exploit, integrate, transfer and add our own knowledge to develop a new patented technology. It will then be bought and used in the development of other technologies across the world.'
Cheung says the mainland recovered from the global financial crisis much faster than technology leaders, such as the United States, Europe and Japan. A large amount of capital has been directed towards the technology industry on the mainland, and the demand for infrastructure in the sector is strong. As a result, more technology patents are being registered there.