Speech by DFS at Low-altitude Economy Development Conference at InnoEx 2026
Following is the speech by the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, at the Low-altitude Economy Development Conference at InnoEx 2026 today (April 15):
Mr Mukhametkaliyev (Vice Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr Bakhtiyar Mukhametkaliyev), Professor Zhang (President of the Liaoning General Aviation Academy, Professor Zhang Qingxin), Dr Boonfueng (Executive Director of the National Innovation Agency, Thailand, Dr Krithpaka Boonfueng), Dr Jane Lee (President of Our Hong Kong Foundation), the Honourable Elizabeth Quat (Founding President of the Greater Bay Area Low Altitude Economy Alliance, Dr Elizabeth Quat), Ms Jenny Koo (Deputy Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. I would like to begin by thanking the organisers of InnoEx 2026 for putting together this marvellous conference yet again in Hong Kong. And my thanks go to TDC (Hong Kong Trade Development Council), of course, for everything that TDC has been doing to promote low altitude economy.
Last year, at the 2025 edition of this event, I shared with you Hong Kong's ambitious plan to develop our low altitude economy. I'm now more than delighted to update you on the significant progress that has since been made, and to share with you the next steps Hong Kong is going to take.
It is estimated that the low altitude economy could represent a global total addressable market of up to US$9 trillion by 2050. So the potential for growth and the size of this sector over the long term are both enormous.
Here in Hong Kong, we are determined to leverage this huge potential for our economic growth. We will also drive institutional innovation and technological breakthrough. In the process, we will capitalise upon Hong Kong's unique strengths under "one country, two systems"; our leading positions as a global financial centre and international trade, logistics and aviation hub; and our fast-growing innovation and tech sector.
To put it simply, we are striving to build an internationally competitive ecosystem for our low altitude economy, and to position Hong Kong as the Asia Pacific hub for innovative low-altitude applications.
We started this journey by launching the first batch of low altitude economy regulatory sandbox projects back in March last year. So far, a total of 38 projects have been announced in this batch, with applications across diverse sectors and environments, covering scenarios such as emergency and rescue, logistics and distribution, infrastructure surveillance and maintenance. To date, more than 20 projects that are more mature have successfully transitioned from the exploratory stage to implementation stage. They've grown from just test concepts to market solutions with actual service providers and buyers. To facilitate this development, our Civil Aviation Department has issued a number of advisory circulars to provide operators with clear guidance to follow and to provide the market with transparent and effective guardrails.
It is noteworthy that many of these sandbox projects have inspired further innovation in new technologies and operational models. As an example, the MTR Corporation's intelligent drone system for tunnel inspection and asset digitisation, and the Hong Kong Government's "SmartAERO", which is a smart drone management platform, have both won international awards and recognition at the International Exhibition of Inventions held in Geneva last month.
Over the past year, the Government has advanced the legal backbone for low altitude economy through progressive amendments to our civil aviation legislation. The first milestone was reached in July 2025 with the legislation to extend the prevailing regulatory regime to cover larger-scale aircraft weighing over 25 kilograms but not more than 150kg, and empower the trial operations of unconventional aircraft weighing more than 150kg under specified conditions. We believe these amendments to our law will open up new possibilities for more complex applications, especially in our logistics and industrial sectors.
Over the past year, the Government has also kick-started the early planning of the core infrastructure requirements necessary to support a scalable, and higher density, low altitude ecosystem. It includes key elements such as vertiports, air route networks, satellite positioning, three-dimensional spatial data systems and a smart low-altitude traffic management system. In particular, my thanks go to the Office of the Communications Authority which launched the Unmanned Aircraft System (Private) Licence late last year. The Authority has also earmarked the 1.4 GHz spectrum band as the dedicated spectrum for allocation to licensees of unmanned aircraft operations. We believe this is a strategic move which will enhance the reliability and range for command and control links, and will strengthen the technical compatibility for cross-boundary low altitude flights as they are developed.
Ladies and gentlemen, the above is just a short recap of what Hong Kong has done since the Conference last year. Going forward, we will do more. We have to do more. Many of you would be aware that the year 2026 is the opening year of the National 15th Five-Year Plan, so Hong Kong will also proactively work to ensure that developments in our robust low altitude economy also align with this all important plan for our future.
Let me give you just a few examples. Firstly, we are in the process of rolling out another phase of regulatory sandboxes, called Sandbox X. I've been told that the word "X" means extension, another level, etc. Sandbox X targets applications that are more advanced, more complicated or have a heavier infrastructure content. I am pleased to report that more than 100 applications have been received, and I am delighted to say that a number of applications related to unmanned aircraft traffic management system and also unconventional aircraft will soon be implemented as pilot projects. Applications in other areas such as cross-boundary operations and a multiple applications shared-platform, are being looked at and we will announce the results shortly.
Secondly, we will draft an action plan on developing the low altitude economy. It will set out a clear way forward, and outline the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders. In drafting the plan, we will draw reference from the best practices around the world, and we will take full account of the experiences gained from sandbox and Sandbox X. Importantly, the plan will also feature the next-phase of legislative and regulatory enhancements that are necessary to lay a firm foundation for the development of our low altitude economy.
Thirdly, we will continue to forge closer integration with the Mainland in maximising the synergy of the low altitude economy in different parts of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. For example, we will work with the relevant authorities to harmonise standards and procedures to facilitate the early commencement of cross-boundary flight operations. We believe this will, in the longer term, unlock a new logistics mode for high-value, last-mile delivery for the entire Greater Bay Area, which has a population of about 90 million people and presents enormous potential for business and profits for those who are ready.
Fourthly, and last but not least, we will continue to leverage Hong Kong's unique strengths as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" to contribute towards the national low altitude economy strategy. Today's InnoEX serves as a prime example of bringing together enterprises, experts, sellers and buyers from the Chinese Mainland and from overseas. Together, we will discover new business opportunities and forge new partnerships. It is our firm belief that, as the global low altitude economy grows, Hong Kong will also have a bigger and bigger role to play, especially in providing an effective, two-way platform for the Chinese Mainland as well as overseas enterprises, and to provide all the support, in finance, in risk management, in logistics as well as a host of other areas, that they need to succeed.
Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your attention and for being such a wonderful audience. In closing, I would like to thank the organisers one more time, and to thank the TDC also for one more time. And for everyone here, I wish you great success. Thank you all very much.
Source: AI-found images
