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Peggy Sito

Terry Wong Ping-sau, the CEO of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP), radiated nostalgia as he scrolled through a map on his phone, focusing on the place he called home for three years while working on the Neom project, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s massive smart-city development.
“Look at this place,” he said. “This is Aqaba. I lived right there, on the shores of the Red Sea, at a crossroads of nations – bordered by Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The geography alone was incredible.”
But for Wong, the real magic was not the stunning sea views. It was the people and the experience of connecting diverse stakeholders into an ecosystem – not unlike his job at HKSTP, which he has held for three months.
“It was like a mini-United Nations,” he said of the Neom project, which aimed to develop a sustainable city powered 100 per cent by renewable energy. “Over 100 brilliant minds from every sector you can imagine. You’d sit down for a meal in the canteen, and right next to you would be someone from Europe, an expert from the US or a specialist from Asia.”
This daily, global collaboration became his greatest classroom. The three years he spent at Neom not only shaped his career but also broadened his horizons. At HKSTP, Wong draws on these experiences to map out the next phase of the park’s development.
“For over 20 years, the science park has established a very solid foundation, with our tech companies achieving outstanding performance across a number of areas,” he said. “In the future, we hope to achieve even more remarkable results, thereby elevating our status in Asia and the world.”

At Neom, Wong was responsible for the strategic planning, investment, delivery and operations of smart mobility systems. He met thousands of start-ups, witnessed cutting-edge technologies and was involved in the process of screening the right companies while supporting them for commercialisation.
HKSTP was established in 2001 as a statutory body to drive a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem by connecting stakeholders, nurturing talent and providing R&D facilities.
It comprises more than 2,200 technology companies from 25 countries and regions, hosting more than 23,000 workers, including over 15,000 R&D professionals. The park, in Pak Shek Kok, Tai Po, supports 14 unicorns and has generated 17 initial public offering cases, according to its 2024-2025 annual report.
“HKSTP hopes to attract more start-ups to Hong Kong, thereby expanding its influence and leveraging its international network to strengthen its pool of scientific research talent,” Wong said. “We focus on leveraging networks, activities and associations – how we can utilise market advantages, the strengths of industry players and their values to attract investors from the mainland, Hong Kong and overseas to participate in our market.”
The ecosystem would be further strengthened with the establishment of the San Tin Technopole campus in the Northern Metropolis, to be known as Innopole, according to Wong.
In last year’s policy address, the government announced that around 20 hectares of land designated for innovation and technology usage in the San Tin Technopole would be progressively transferred to HKSTP for development starting in 2026.
The first phase of Innopole is scheduled to commence in early 2027, spanning around 2.5 hectares. This phase will see the construction of office space, talent accommodation and facilities for edge computing, manufacturing and low-altitude-economy activities.
The HKSTP aimed to speed up the commercialisation of stakeholders’ products by allowing start-ups to set up manufacturing facilities at Innopole, Wong said.
As an international financial centre, Hong Kong could provide strong backing for the city’s growing innovation ecosystem, he said.

“Hong Kong is good at attracting international talent, particularly in areas such as taxation and financing,” Wong said. “The free flow of capital is also an advantage that has drawn numerous enterprises.”
The city’s development would continue to attract foreign capital and mainland enterprises, encouraging them to list in Hong Kong, he added.
“We must establish robust networks to enable [ecosystem] players’ potential participation or support – whether now or in the future,” he said. “Therefore, we need to strengthen our connections with the industry in Hong Kong, the mainland and internationally.”


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Hong Kong

Fresh from three years on Saudi Arabia’s huge smart-city project, Wong aims to harness ecosystem effects to step up innovation in the city


Fresh from three years on Saudi Arabia’s huge smart-city project, Wong aims to harness ecosystem effects to step up innovation in the city.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Fresh from three years on Saudi Arabia’s huge smart-city project, Wong aims to harness ecosystem effects to step up innovation in the city

Fresh from three years on Saudi Arabia’s huge smart-city project, Wong aims to harness ecosystem effects to step up innovation in the city