**********************************************************
The Government will continue to provide the best soft and hard infrastructure to make Hong Kong an innovation and technology hub, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Miss Janet Wong said today (November 1).
Opening the ICT conference, "The Way to Digital City - Sustainable Public Services and Solutions", organised by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, Miss Wong said, "The Innovation and Technology Commission remains fully committed to fostering an innovation and technology culture in the community and facilitating the provision of infrastructure to support innovation and technology."
"We will continue to facilitate technology development through a programme of funding and infrastructural support."
On hardware, following the success of Science Park Phases 1 and 2, the Government has decided to support the development of Phase 3. The first buildings will come on stream towards the end of 2013. When Phase 3 is completed in 2016, it will provide an additional 105,000 square metres of space.
On software, Miss Wong pointed out that the Commission set up a $200 million Research and Development (R&D) Cash Rebate Scheme in April this year to help those enterprises conducting applied R&D projects with the support of the Innovation and Technology Fund or by partnership with designated local research institutions.
Other financial support for the technology sector includes the Small Entrepreneur Research Assistance Programme (SERAP), a scheme under the Innovation and Technology Fund. The programme provides pre-venture capital stage financing to support technology entrepreneurs to carry out R&D work for starting new businesses and conducting market validation.
Miss Wong noted that Intuitive Automata, a recipient of SERAP funding and an incubatee company in the Science Park, had just won the inaugural Credit Suisse Technopreneur Award with a robotic weight-loss "coach" for dieters at the Asian Innovation Awards 2010, presented by The Wall Street Journal Asia in partnership with Credit Suisse AG. The award was for the entry that best applies technology with the greatest potential for commercial success. The company started out at the United States' Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and chose Hong Kong as its base of operations.
Miss Wong said, "Equally, and indeed more important, are the innovative and creative solutions and services which help capture and embrace opportunities and challenges, and serve as vital ingredients to strive for improved efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability."
Ends/Monday, November 1, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:27
NNNN