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The Government today (Tuesday) announced the establishment of the Provisional Hong Kong Science Park Company Limited to take the planning and development work of the Science Park project forward.

The Board of Directors of the Company is chaired by Mr Victor Lo, Chairman and Chief Executive of Gold Peak Industries (Holdings) Limited. Mr Lo is also a member of the Chief Executive's Commission on Innovation and Technology and the Industry and Technology Development Council.

Other members of the Board include:

Mr Patrick Wang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Electric Industrial Manufactory Limited;

Dr Chang Chu-cheng, Chairman of Varitronix International Limited;

Mr Carlos Genardini, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Motorola Semiconductors Hong Kong Limited;

Dr William Lo, Managing Director of Hong Kong Telecom IMS Limited;

Prof. Arthur Li, Vice Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong;

Prof. Otto Lin, Vice President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology;

Prof. Charles Kao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Transtech Services Limited;

Mr Keith Kerr, Managing Director of Swire Properties Limited;

Mr Herbert Hui, Managing Director of Guangdong Investment Limited;

Mr Kwok Kwok-chuen, Chief Economist, NE Asia of Standard Chartered Bank;

Mr Terence Ernest Smith, Managing Director of Leigh and Orange Limited; and

Mr Wong Kai-man, Partner of Coopers & Lybrand.

The two official members on the Board are the Secretary for Trade and Industry and the Director-General of Industry, or their representatives.

Pending the completion of the necessary legislative procedures in the 1998-99 legislative session, the Provisional Hong Kong Science Park Company Limited will be succeeded by a statutory body to be known as the Hong Kong Science Park Corporation.

The Science Park project is one of the major commitments made by the Chief Executive in his first Policy Address to move Hong Kong's economy up the technology and value added ladder. The Science Park will be located at Pak Shek Kok in Tai Po. The land is now under reclamation. Phase One of the Science Park will be opened in the second half of 2001.

"The Science Park will strengthen the links between the higher education, research, industrial and business communities and help develop networks between them," a Government spokesman said.

"It will help make the investment in higher education and research more immediately productive, and encourage more technology intensive, higher value-added business activities, through both the attraction of new activities and firms to Hong Kong, and the start up and growth of indigenous technology-based businesses," he said.

End/Tuesday, July 7, 1998

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