Hong Kong is allocating HK$300 million this year to help SMEs adopt AI and cybersecurity solutions, according to a report by Xinhua.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan outlined the funding as part of an enhancement to the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme.
The initiative targets businesses looking to use readily available AI tools to forecast consumer trends, optimise marketing, and automate daily operations.
Writing on his blog, Chan detailed broader efforts to attract international tech talent and build the city into a base for research and entrepreneurship.
He highlighted the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster, which is currently under construction.
The site is projected to deliver 180,000 peta-floating point operations per second (PFLOPS) by 2032, representing a 36-fold increase over Hong Kong’s current computing capacity.
The government is also supporting AI development through the Artificial Intelligence Subsidy Scheme, which has approved more than 30 projects spanning large AI models, medical AI models, and embodied intelligence.
Chan noted that the government has formed the Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy, which will hold its first meeting soon.
To support workforce readiness, the government has set aside HK$50 million for an AI training initiative. The funding will support more than 200 events over the next two fiscal years, benefiting an estimated 50,000 participants.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by mrsiraphol via Magnific
