Appointments to new term of Steering Committee of the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus (RAISe+) Scheme
The Government announced today (December 22) the appointments to the Steering Committee of the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus (RAISe+) Scheme under the Innovation and Technology Fund for 2026-2027. Mr Duncan Chiu was reappointed as the Chairman of the Committee, while 15 non-official members were reappointed and two new non-official members were appointed. The appointments are for a term of two years starting from January 1, 2026.
The Committee is responsible for vetting eligible applications under the RAISe+ Scheme. Members are drawn from the research, academic, industry and investment sectors.
The membership of the Committee is as follows:
Chairman
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Mr Duncan Chiu
Non-official Members
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Professor Bian Zhaoxiang
Professor Cai Hongbin
Dr Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu
Professor Chan Chi-hou
Professor Francis Chan Ka-leung
Mr Simon Chan Sai-ming
Dr Hu Zhanghong
Ms Vanessa Huang Yifei
Dr Leung Chuen-yan*
Ms Li Qianxin
Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong
Professor Randy Poon Yat-choi
Mr Sunny Tan
Mr Patrick Tsang Shun-fuk
Professor Tu Wenwei
Professor Wong Wing-tak
Professor Zhang Qian*
Ex-officio Members
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Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry or his/her representative
Commissioner for Innovation and Technology or his/her representative
(* New appointee)
The Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Mr Ivan Lee, said, "We would like to express our gratitude to the current members of the Committee for their support and contribution in the past two years and extend our sincere appreciation to the outgoing members, Professor Li Zexiang and Professor Teng Jin-guang. We trust that the Committee, under the leadership of Mr Chiu, will continue to provide valuable knowledge and advice to the Committee in the assessment of applications under the RAISe+ Scheme."
The RAISe+ Scheme was launched in 2023 to unleash the potential of local universities in the "1 to N" transformation and commercialisation of research and development outcomes and facilitate relevant collaboration among the Government, industries, universities and research sectors. It will fund, on a matching basis, research teams from the eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee, which have good potential to become successful start-ups. Funding support from $10 million to $100 million will be provided to each approved project. A total of 49 projects were supported by the Scheme in the first two batches. The third round of applications was closed at the end of October 2025, and assessment of the applications is under way. Details are available on the ITF website (www.itf.gov.hk). For enquiries, please contact the Secretariat of the Scheme (Tel: 3543 5904; email: raiseplus@itc.gov.hk).
Source: AI-found images
Financing sandbox launched today with opening of Hong Kong Technology and Innovation Support Centre to foster intellectual property financing and innovation
The Government announced today (December 22) the official launch of the intellectual property (IP) financing sandbox and the opening of the Hong Kong Technology and Innovation Support Centre (HKTISC), marking key milestones in promoting IP financing and further developing Hong Kong's IP trading ecosystem while fostering innovation.
The Chief Executive announced in the 2025 Policy Address the launch of the sandbox to assist pilot sectors (particularly the technology sector) in leveraging IPs for financing with the support of the banking, insurance, valuation, legal and other professions. The sandbox will provide a collaborative and risk-controlled environment for stakeholders to test out the full lifecycle of IP financing and accumulate practical experience in providing IP financing.
With the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) deliberation, the sandbox is underpinned by the following four core operating principles:
(1) Recognition of IP value: Participating banks will consider the value of IPs owned by borrowing enterprises, alongside the borrower's credit demand, financial position and repayment ability in their credit underwriting process.
(2) Independent and standardised valuation: To ensure credibility, IP valuation will be conducted by independent service providers using universally accepted methods. Where appropriate, qualitative patent evaluation reports can be obtained to support this process.
(3) Risk management: Participating banks should comply with applicable supervisory requirements on risk management, while participating enterprises should comply with the legal and regulatory requirements in respect of maintaining and developing the IP assets concerned.
(4) Stakeholder collaboration: The initiative relies on a cohesive ecosystem. It brings together enterprises that hold IP assets, banks, valuation experts, legal practitioners and other relevant professionals to co-create successful financing transactions.
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, said that the IP financing sandbox, together with other related measures announced in "The Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address", would help leverage Hong Kong's unique strengths to build an ecosystem where IP is protected with rigour, valued with clarity, and financed with confidence, with a view to strengthening Hong Kong's role as a regional IP trading centre.
By enabling enterprises to leverage their IP assets for financing, the sandbox will help unlock a new financing channel, thereby supporting the commercialisation of outcomes of research and development as well as creativity, and promoting innovation and technology as a key driver of economic growth.
Three major banks have committed to participating in the sandbox, while nearly 30 professional firms from the legal and valuation sectors have indicated keen interest in participating. The CEDB, the IPD and the HKMA will closely monitor the progress of the pilot projects, gather feedback, and provide guidance as needed. It is anticipated that several trial cases are in the pipeline for the first phase of the sandbox.
In addition, the HKTISC that officially commenced full operations today is another key complementary initiative in promoting IP financing. With the support of the IPD, the HKTISC will closely engage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the innovation and technology sector and provide a qualitative patent evaluation service to assess, based on national standards, the quality of their patents from legal, technological and economic perspectives. The Government will also launch a support scheme through the HKTISC in 2026 to financially assist SMEs to engage professional service providers for the valuation of their whole IP portfolios in monetary terms.
These integrated measures aim to provide an objective reference about the strengths of the patents and the monetary valuation of the whole IP portfolios owned by the SMEs, facilitating more effective credit assessment and investment analysis.
The Technology and Innovation Support Centre is a dedicated programme of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which supports researchers and innovators at different stages of the innovation cycle, helping them make use of the IP system (especially by means of patents) to protect their inventions and guiding them to bring the technology to market. With the recognition of the Hong Kong Productivity Council as a Technology and Innovation Support Centre hosting institution by the China National Intellectual Property Administration and WIPO, the HKTISC will join the 200-plus strong Technology and Innovation Support Centre network in the country, which promotes better integration of Hong Kong into overall national development.
Source: AI-found images
