October 27, 2017
HONG KONG (31 October 2017) - 53 participants attended a visit to Futian, Shenzhen on 27 Oct 2017 (Friday) jointly organized by Hong Kong Biotechnology Organization (香港生物科技協會), Hong Kong Industry University Research Collaboration Association (香港產學研合作促進會), The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong - Biotechnology Industry Committees (中華廠商會生物科技行業委員會) and Smart City Consortium (智慧城市聯盟). Participants included Professor Yuk-Lam Lo, Executive Committee Member of The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong; Professor Christopher Cheng, Managing Director of Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology; Dr. Samson Tam, President of Hong Kong Industry University Research Collaboration Association; Dr. Anny Wong, Head of Mainland Collaboration & Business Development, HKSTP Corporation; Professor Albert Yu, Chairman of Hong Kong Biotechnology Organization etc. The visit provided precious opportunity for biotech stakeholders in Hong Kong to understand and investigate the future development and cooperation plan of Futian and The Lok Ma Chau Loop, thereby inviting them to assimilate into the spirit and development of Biotechnology at China’s Greater Bay Area, with a view of sharing the latest biotechnology information and to get business opportunities amongst them.
The ‘Greater Bay Area’ refers to the Chinese government's scheme to link the cities of Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing into an integrated economic and business hub. Under this scheme, The Lok Ma Chau Loop in Hong Kong and Futian area in Shenzhen will be the main hub for innovation and technology development. At the latest policy address, HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam emphasized on Hong Kong’s innovation and technology development: HKSAR Government will take an active role in fostering collaboration in the Greater Bay Area and in constructing the international Inno-tech centre.
During the visit, officials from Futian area government were invited to give speeches to introduce their future development plan and arrangements. “Shenzhen’s miraculous growth in the past 30 years could not have been possible without Hong Kong. Today as innovation-driven Shenzhen powers ahead, the need for strong alliance and collaboration with Hong Kong is even higher,” remarked Dr. Liu Zhi-Yong, Deputy District Mayor of Futian District People’s Government of Shenzhen Municipality.
“Shenzhen government provides ample support for innovation and the nurturing of talents. Both the extent and the strength of support is incredible and unparalleled….If you have a promising project, Shenzhen will welcome you with open arms… Speaking from my own experience as an overseas-Chinese returnee building a biotech start-up from scratch in China, Shenzhen’s effort in helping emerging industry grow can’t be matched by anywhere else in the world,” stated Professor Grace Zhou, Chairman of Shenzhen International Institute for Biomedical Research (SIIBR).
“We must leverage Hong Kong’s unique advantage in its rich experience in corporate governance to effectively realize the ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative. Futian takes a lead in potentiating high-technology collaboration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong,” commented Professor Albert Yu, Chairman of Hong Kong Biotechnology Organization.
