Hong Kong's Innovation Strengths Highlighted by Global Rankings and European Talent Interest

According to the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's advancements in its innovation and technology (I&T) sector have been acknowledged in several international assessments. The International Institute for Management Development's "World Competitiveness Ranking 2026" placed Hong Kong second among 70 economies globally. Furthermore, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster maintained its first-place global standing in the World Intellectual Property Organization's "Global Innovation Index 2026," which evaluates regions based on patent filings, scientific publications, and start-up funding deals.

Hong Kong's start-up environment has seen significant growth, increasing from over 1,500 start-ups in 2015 to more than 5,200 in 2023, according to the latest government data. The city benefits from its proximity to the manufacturing centers in the Greater Bay Area development zone of Southern China and government-backed funding initiatives for research and development, alongside a stable supply of skilled I&T talent.

Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE), an office under the Labour and Welfare Bureau, has been actively promoting the city's advantages to attract global technology professionals since its establishment in 2023. A recent initiative involved co-hosting the HKTE x EuroTech Hackathon in Munich, Germany in June, which involved approximately 250 participants from European universities and start-ups tasked with developing concepts addressing practical challenges relevant to Hong Kong.

Following the competition, HKTE invited the hackathon winners and representatives from the EuroTech Federation to join a 20-member delegation to visit Hong Kong and its neighboring cities to gain firsthand knowledge of the region's developing I&T infrastructure. Cem Araz, CEO and co-founder of the Munich-based start-up Heal, whose team won the healthtech category, was among those who visited. Heal operates Heal Health, a preventive-health application that provides users with blood-test data and AI-guided recommendations and follow-up actions for wearable devices.

Araz expressed interest in potentially basing his start-up in Hong Kong or another location within the bay area scheme, noting that he believes the city provides suitable investment opportunities, start-up support, and a regulatory framework for an AI-enabled preventive-health business, suggesting the region's demographic needs present a relevant opportunity for preventive health technology. He stated that Heal's concept could be valuable to Hong Kong due to its aging population, which he viewed as a mutually beneficial prospect.

The five-day program allowed Araz and other winners to observe the I&T ecosystems in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. The group toured various I&T hubs, including Hong Kong Science Park in Pak Shek Kok, the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park at the Lok Ma Chau Loop, Cyberport in Pok Fu Lam, and the Northern Metropolis in the northern New Territories, a strategic area focused on cross-border collaboration and I&T research. They also visited I&T organizations and enterprises in Qianhai, Shenzhen, and Nansha, Guangzhou, that specialize in industrial applications in areas such as AI, robotics, smart transport, and biotechnology.

Araz mentioned that speaking with entrepreneurs already established in Hong Kong was a valuable aspect of the trip. He was also impressed by the scope of technology applications demonstrated in Shenzhen, such as autonomous driving and drone food delivery, which are not yet common in Germany. He found the innovations displayed at the technology and entertainment conglomerate Tencent Holdings particularly inspiring as the founder of a young, early-stage start-up.

During the visit, Araz managed to achieve his primary goals: gaining a clearer understanding of how Hong Kong supports entrepreneurs and connecting with local founders, specifically learning about support programs for early-stage companies, including potential funding and office rental subsidies, while establishing useful business contacts.

Felix Chan, director of HKTE, commented that the positive reception to the hackathon indicated that young innovators in Europe were interested in the technology start-up scene in Hong Kong and the bay area scheme, and the subsequent visit reinforced this interest. Chan stated that for the winners, the trip was an opportunity to convert that curiosity into tangible actions, such as meeting people in the innovation ecosystem, understanding available support, and considering Hong Kong for a future growth phase. He concluded that HKTE's role is to offer comprehensive support and foster lasting connections with global talent, thereby transforming interest in Hong Kong into actual opportunities.