FS: Highlighting Hong Kong's Role in Innovation at LEAP East 2026 Opening Ceremony

Speech by FS at LEAP East 2026 Opening Ceremony

Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the LEAP East 2026 Opening Ceremony today (July 8):

Your Excellency Minister Alswaha (Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia, Mr Abdullah Alswaha), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning, and welcome to Hong Kong.

I am delighted that this very first LEAP conference held outside Saudi Arabia is in Hong Kong. We are honoured that you have chosen us as your partner for this new chapter. With some 35 000 participants from over 30 countries and territories, this turnout speaks volumes about the global appeal of LEAP East and the strength of our shared vision.

This conference builds on the deepening ties between Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong across finance, technology, infrastructure and trade, forged through frequent high-level interaction and visits by senior officials and business delegations. My sincere thanks to Minister Alswaha and his team, both for their leadership and for making the journey to Hong Kong. While you are here, I hope you will find time to enjoy the very best of our hospitality.

Today, I would like to focus my remarks on two questions: why Hong Kong is an ideal base for innovation; and how Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia - and the wider Middle East region - can seize the opportunities before us, together.

Hong Kong's value proposition

Hong Kong is perhaps the only city in the world that connects seamlessly to both the Chinese Mainland and the rest of the world at the same time. Working under the common law system, we have robust protection for intellectual property. As a free port, capital, goods, talent and data freely flow in and out of this city. Simple, low tax is a standing feature of our regime. And we are one of the safest, most stable cities anywhere in the world. These are the foundations on which businesses, talent and creativity thrive.

We have built a burgeoning innovation and technology ecosystem, with a growing pipeline of promising start-ups and future unicorns. With strong support under the National 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong is fast emerging as a leading international innovation hub. The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry will share more shortly, so allow me to set out the bigger picture - how we support innovation, anchored in three key strategies.

First: "Finance+" and vibrant capital markets

Innovation needs capital, and Hong Kong is where capital and ideas meet. This is the heart of our "Finance+" strategy - using finance as a powerful enabler to drive the real economy.

Our capital markets are growing not only in scale, but also in breadth and depth. Hong Kong topped the world in IPO (initial public offering)in 2025, with 119 listings raising some US$35 billion, including many world tech champions. This year, the momentum is even more promising. We are a destination of choice for emerging Chinese and international technology companies to raise funds for global expansion. This is a genuine win-win: Companies can tap our active markets to fuel R&D and scale up at home and abroad, while investors gain direct access to the enormous upside of China's innovation-led growth.

This is aided by our various "Connect" schemes, where international investors can access high-quality Mainland enterprises, while Mainland investors can invest in companies listed in Hong Kong.

Public markets, of course, are only part of our success story. Our venture capital and private equity ecosystem is managing over US$230 billion, second only to the Chinese Mainland in Asia.

And for frontier technologies that call for patient capital, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation - our Government's investment flagship - has already invested in more than 200 projects, attracting over eight dollars of co-investment by international long-term capital for every dollar it invests. With an initial capital of around US$8 billion, and further injections planned later this year, it will continue to back companies looking to grow from Hong Kong into the international arena.

Fintech, in particular, is an important part of this strategy. In Hong Kong, we embrace digital assets because we see their potential to make transactions more efficient, more inclusive, and at lower costs. At the same time, we balance pro-innovation policies with regulation, keeping them within proper guardrails - so that the sector can grow with credibility, while investors and the public are protected.

Second: harnessing "AI+"

Parallel to our "Finance+" strategy is our focus on AI, which is a major engine of innovation. We have an AI+ vision: to develop AI as a strategic industry in its own right, while harnessing it as a powerful enabler across different sectors of the economy.

Hong Kong has everything it takes to build AI into a powerful industry - computing power, algorithms, data, application scenarios, talent and capital. Across every sector, from finance and industry to healthcare and education, AI is already being put to work. At the government level, we have established the Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy, bringing together leaders from industry and academia to explore how AI can best transform our key sectors.

At the same time, we spare no efforts in nurturing talent and raising digital literacy through our AI Training for All initiative, because we believe our community must know how to work with AI - using it to create value, while staying alert to its potential risks.

Third: integrating technology, talent, education and industry

Our third strategy is to bring technology, education, talent and industry closely together, fostering a virtuous cycle in which one reinforces another.

The centrepiece here is the Northern Metropolis. Bordering Shenzhen, it will be home to multiple innovation and technology parks, including the Hetao area. Over there, people, goods, capital, data, and even biosamples will move efficiently across the border. It will create a truly unique cross-boundary innovation space, and an ideal base for international AI, biotech and other cutting-edge industries to conduct research, test the outcomes and deploy them at scale, hand in hand with Mainland partners.

In the western part of the Northern Metropolis, we are also developing a 1 000-hectare university town district, where leading universities, research institutes and enterprises will sit side by side, in a vibrant community where research outcomes can move quickly from the laboratory to the real world, and scale up.

Which brings me to the deepening collaboration within the cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). What makes the GBA so special is the way it weaves capital, innovation, higher education, talent and industry development into a single, integrated whole.

The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster ranks first in the world for innovation, and its supply chains are equally impressive. A robotic company in the GBA, for instance, can source almost every component it needs within half an hour's drive. With Hong Kong's international financial centre at its core, the GBA indeed offers something no other region can: the combined strengths of a global financial hub, an innovation powerhouse and an advanced manufacturing base - backed by an affluent population of 88 million, and a potential market of 2.1 billion people across China and Southeast Asia.

Working with Saudi Arabia and the Middle East

Ladies and gentlemen, there is enormous potential for us - Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia - to do more together. Both of us are gateways to our respective regions, and our capital markets are already linked - through mutual listings of exchange-traded funds, a milestone I was privileged to witness two years ago.

We warmly welcome Saudi and Gulf enterprises to leverage Hong Kong's capital markets - through listings, bond issuance, asset management, or other partnerships. Let Hong Kong be your international fundraising and risk-management platform, connecting you with investors and markets across Asia and beyond.

Your ambitious transformation agenda, Vision 2030, inspires me on every visit. Hong Kong is precisely the gateway and platform where proven frontier technology and advanced manufacturing businesses from the region can settle in Saudi Arabia and expand across Europe and Africa. I plan to lead a delegation to Saudi Arabia again later this year, bringing leading companies in infrastructure, green tech, healthcare and advanced manufacturing, plus professionals in the finance, investment and professional services sector, to explore concrete projects that will advance your goals and deepen our partnership.

Closing

In the end, it all comes down to friendship and connection - between people, between ideas, between capital and opportunity. That is what LEAP is about: building those connections across regions and across cultures, on the basis of trust and friendship.

On that note, I wish this conference every success, and I am particularly delighted to note that this conference will continue to be held in Hong Kong in the coming three years. I am confident that the partnership between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia will grow even stronger in the many years to come. Thank you very much.

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, attended the LEAP East 2026 opening ceremony today (July 8). Photo shows guests participated in the opening ceremony. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, attended the LEAP East 2026 opening ceremony today (July 8). Photos shows Mr Chan (second left) touring an exhibition booth. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, attended the LEAP East 2026 opening ceremony today (July 8). Photo shows (from front row first left) the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong; the Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia, Mr Abdullah Alswaha; Mr Chan and other guests touring an exhibition booth. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, attended the LEAP East 2026 opening ceremony today (July 8). Photos shows (from fifth right) Mr Chan; the Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia, Mr Abdullah Alswaha; the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, and other guests at the ceremony. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, attended the LEAP East 2026 opening ceremony today (July 8). Photo shows (from left) the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong; Mr Chan; and the Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia, Mr Abdullah Alswaha, at the ceremony. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, speaks at the LEAP East 2026 opening ceremony today (July 8). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Welcome remarks by SITI at LEAP East 2026 Opening Ceremony

Following are the welcome remarks by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the LEAP East 2026 Opening Ceremony today (July 8):

Your Excellency Minister Alswaha (Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia, Mr Abdullah Alswaha), Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to Hong Kong! It is my great pleasure to join all of you today for the LEAP East 2026 – the first time the LEAP technology conference is being held outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I would like to thank Your Excellency Minister Alswaha for extending LEAP from Saudi Arabia to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government is honoured to support this landmark international event.

Standing here today, I am reminded of my duty visit to Saudi Arabia in 2024 and the pleasant experience at LEAP in Riyadh, where the first ever Hong Kong Pavilion was set up there. My visit was of course very impressive. It set in motion the new chapter for the innovation and technology (I&T) collaboration between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.

Today, as we are hosting LEAP East in Hong Kong, we are delighted to welcome over 340 speakers, 450 exhibitors, over 400 investors, and over 35 000 visitors from 30 countries and regions, together strong participation from 14 provinces and cities from the Chinese Mainland. Don't forget this is the first time the LEAP organises technology conference outside the Saudi Arabia. This international gathering reflects the rising global I&T momentum, and Hong Kong is proud to serve as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" for international exchanges.

Guided by the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint promulgated in 2022, we are now building a comprehensive I&T ecosystem with strategic focus on life and health technologies, AI and robotics, as well as advanced manufacturing and energy and so on. Our vision remains very clear – to develop Hong Kong into an international I&T centre. Now please allow me to update you on Hong Kong's latest I&T scene.

Being home to five of the world's top 100 universities, Hong Kong is internationalised with strong R&D (research and development) capabilities. Our flagship InnoHK research platform now has supported 38 laboratories in collaboration with more than 30 world-renowned universities and research institutes from 12 economies, in collaboration with many research scientists from different parts of the world. Now the research laboratories have put together over 3 000 international talents. The laboratories focus on several important areas in addition to life and health technologies, robotics and AI. The new laboratories has recently expanded to sustainable development, advanced manufacturing, energy and materials. We welcome the top universities and research institutes from Saudi Arabia and around the world to join us on this meaningful journey.

Our digital infrastructure is also advancing rapidly to support future AI growth. In addition to Cyberport's AI Supercomputing Centre, which I mentioned at LEAP 2024, the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster under construction now will provide computing power of 180,000 PFLOPS around 2032, a thirty-six-fold increase that will position Hong Kong as an international data hub.

At the same time, Hong Kong's strategic innovation platforms are taking shape. The Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone opened last December, together with its extension, San Tin Technopole, are integral pillars of our nation's overarching strategy to build a self-reliant, world-class innovation and technology ecosystem.

The HKSAR Government's commitment to I&T is further demonstrated through funding support, including three so-called HK$10 billion funding initiatives, more than USD3.8 billion in total. These include the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme to accelerate commercialisation of R&D outcomes; the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme to support smart production facilities; and the I&T Industry-Oriented Fund, a fund-of-funds to channel more market capital into the emerging strategic industries.

Our efforts are bearing fruit. The number of start-ups in Hong Kong has surged by 40 per cent since 2021, reaching 5 200 in 2025. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster, ranked first globally in the Global Innovation Index 2025. Hong Kong ranked fourth globally in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2025, and what is more, ranked second globally in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2026.

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 has opened extraordinary opportunities for technological development, digital transformation, and new industries. Under "one country, two systems", Hong Kong enjoys the unparalleled advantages of strong support from our Motherland while remaining closely connected to the world. We are the ideal gateway for Mainland enterprises to go global, and for overseas, including Saudi Arabian, Middle East enterprises to venture into the GBA (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area) and the boarder Mainland market. With our global network, pivotal role in the Belt and Road Initiative, and position within the GBA's 88-million-population market, Hong Kong is uniquely placed to support overseas companies seeking global collaboration, R&D collaboration, and access to Chinese and Asian markets. Indeed, in the past several years, we have facilitated nearly 700, leading or high-potential I&T enterprises to establish or expand their presence in Hong Kong.

Ladies and gentlemen, innovation is ultimately creating meaningful value and contributing to the betterment of humankind. Hong Kong stands ready to work with partners from Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and around the world to build new bridges and shape a sustainable, innovative future. I invite you to experience our vibrant I&T ecosystem and explore the opportunities that await. Hong Kong offers inspiration at every hour, and I hope you will feel it throughout your stay in Hong Kong.

Finally, may I wish LEAP East every success. I wish we work together, leap forward, and make significant strides together. Thank you very much.

Source: AI-found images