Baby boom or bust: Trip.com co-founder launches HK$500 million fund to boost birth rates
Trip.com co-founder James Liang says Hong Kong is uniquely placed to help solve China’s looming population crunch
James Liang, co-founder of Chinese online travel giant Trip.com Group, has launched a HK$500 million (US$64.23 million) foundation in Hong Kong to tackle China’s deepening fertility crisis.
Citing Hong Kong’s unique advantages as a global hub that facilitates the exchange of international expertise, he said the city was the ideal springboard for tackling China’s mounting demographic pressures.
“The challenge of low fertility rates faced by Hong Kong society is highly representative, and the foundation’s pilots provide valuable reference for mainland first-tier cities and other similar Asian metropolises,” he told the Post in a written reply.
Established in Liang’s personal capacity and unveiled on World Children’s Day, the Genovation Foundation plans to disburse the funds over five years through three main channels: direct financial support for doctoral students who have children; grants of up to HK$1 million for fertility-friendly cultural and artistic projects; and a global forum that will bring together leading universities to address declining birth rates.
In its pilot phase, the foundation will offer a HK$50,000 childcare and education subsidy to full-time PhD students at Hong Kong universities whose children are born on or after January 1, 2026.
The scheme is intended to plug a gap for young academics who face the competing pressures of career advancement, limited income and high childcare costs at the start of their professional lives.