Hong Kong Launches AI Industry Strategy Committee to Drive Business Transformation

Hong Kong is moving from AI ambition to structured execution—and it's putting real money behind it.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced that Hong Kong's Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy has been formally established, with its first meeting due this month. The committee, first unveiled in the 2026-27 Budget, brings together experts, academics, chamber of commerce representatives, and technology park leaders to map strategies for AI-driven industrial transformation.

The initial focus areas are health technologies and embodied AI, with plans to expand into transportation, cultural and creative industries, and sustainable development.

But the strategy isn't just supply-side compute investment. The government is explicitly targeting the demand side—how AI gets used across Hong Kong's economy, and by whom.

Concrete commitments include:

• HK$300 million to expand the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Program, helping SMEs adopt AI and cybersecurity solutions, including AI tools for consumer trend forecasting and marketing optimization
• HK$50 million for the "AI Training for All" initiative, with 200+ events planned over two years and an estimated 50,000 participants
• A 180,000 petaflop data facility at Sandy Ridge, expected to be online by 2032—36x the city's current compute capacity
• A mainland Chinese company opening Hong Kong's first fully-autonomous robot retail store, staffed by an AI robot manager

Chan's framing is strategic: "In technology, the use case defines the market, and application determines its value." Hong Kong is betting that combining world-class compute infrastructure with targeted industry adoption programs will accelerate its position as Asia's AI hub.

Read the full article on China Daily Asia