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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Ting-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr Joseph WP Wong, in the Legislative Council today (November 29):
Question:
It has been reported that the Singaporean Government will allocate S$13.55 billion (approximately HK$67.7 billion) to promote research and development (R&D) in science and technology in the coming five years, and young people from around the world are welcome to pursue postgraduate studies, teach or conduct research in the universities of Singapore. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has studied if Singapore's plan to nurture scientific and technological research talents will pose competition to Hong Kong; if it has, of the study findings;
(b) of the long-term plan for nurturing scientific and technological research talents in Hong Kong; and
(c) of the amount of expenditure on nurturing scientific and technological research talents and conducting R&D activities in each of the past three years, together with the rate of increase in such expenditure, as well as the number of local institutes or enterprises engaging in R&D activities which were set up in each year of the same period, together with the rate of increase in the number of such institutes or enterprises?
Reply:
Madam President,
Regarding the Hon Wong Ting-kwong's question, my reply is set out below.
Parts (a) & (b):
The Government is aware of the document "Science and Technology Plan 2010" issued by the Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry. According to the document, the Singaporean Government will over the coming five years promote R&D through a variety of activities, including funding R&D projects, promoting R&D-related investments and academic research.
The challenge of attracting and retaining talents is indeed being faced by all economies in the knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. The Government is currently implementing a number of schemes to attract overseas and Mainland talents, not limited to those in the fields of science and technology, to come to Hong Kong. In the past three years, some 20,000 to 25,000 professionals have been approved each year to work or settle in Hong Kong through the various employment or admission schemes. Since these schemes are not sector specific and science and technology-related professionals may work in different fields, the Immigration Department does not keep statistics on the number of such professionals.
In addition, the Government has been sparing no efforts in nurturing local science and technology talents. In primary and secondary schools, we promote students' interest in science and technology through developing their scientific thinking, investigative skills and problem solving abilities; promoting life-wide learning and participation in international science and technology competitions; and organising special programmes for students gifted in science and technology. In higher education, we have been providing a total of 4 315 publicly-funded research postgraduate (RPg) places at the institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) per annum since the 2003/04 academic year. To support efforts on this front, we have further decided to provide an additional 450 publicly-funded RPg places by phases for the 2005-08 Triennium. Furthermore, to attract outstanding research talents to Hong Kong, we have since 2002 abolished the quota for admitting non-local RPg students and have seen a growth in the number of such students.
On the promotion of applied R&D and development of clusters of hi-tech companies and R&D experts, we have put in place a comprehensive range of funding and infrastructure support, including the Innovation and Technology Fund, DesignSmart Initiative, the Science Park, the Applied Science and Technology Research Institute and the Hong Kong Productivity Council. In April 2006, we set up five R&D Centres as an additional impetus to drive applied R&D. The Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) and these Centres have been actively establishing collaboration with Mainland and overseas research organisations to further facilitate exchange of talents.
On the promotion of an innovation and technology culture in the community, the ITC has since 2005 been organising the Innovation Festival every year. The Festival comprises a series of roadshows, technology and design workshops, exhibitions and invention competitions to arouse the community's interest in innovation and technology. The ITC also organises the annual Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition and has established the Hong Kong Youth Innovation Club this year to develop the potential of our young talents in innovation and technology.
Part (c):
(i) Government's expenditure on nurturing scientific and technological research talents - based on the student unit costs provided by the UGC-funded institutions, the amount of Government funding involved in the provision of publicly-funded RPg places was about $1.6 billion per annum in the past few years.
The Government also, through the New Technology Training Scheme, provides financial assistance to companies to provide training to their staff in new technologies in Hong Kong or overseas. Since the inception of this Scheme in 1992, over $64 million has been approved for 13 000 cases.
(ii) Expenditure on conducting R&D activities - according to the surveys conducted by the Census and Statistics Department, the total R&D expenditures incurred by Hong Kong (including both the private and public sectors) were $7.5 billion, $8.5 billion and $ 9.5 billion in 2002, 2003 and 2004 respectively (Note 1)(i.e. an increase of 26% from 2002 to 2004).
(iii) Number of local institutes or enterprises engaging in R&D activities - according to the findings of the Annual Survey of Innovation Activities in the Business Sector conducted by the Census and Statistics Department, the estimated number of firms engaged in R&D activities were 1 223, 2 479, 3 860 and 4 294 in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively (i.e. an increase of 250% over the past four years).
Note 1: The figure for 2005 is not available yet.
Ends/Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Issued at HKT 13:12
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