Following is a question by the Hon Sunny Tan and a reply by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):

Question:

     The country's 2025 Report on the Work of the Government highlights the need to "continuously advance the 'Artificial Intelligence Plus' (AI+) Initiative", while last year's Policy Address emphasised promoting the development of AI+ and facilitating the extensive and deep integration and application of AI across different sectors. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the specific strategies to promote the extensive application of AI in the long run for supporting the digital transformation of traditional industries with competitive edge, such as the textiles industry, for which the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan have expressed support for upgrading;

(2) given that some members of the industry suggest that the authorities should consolidate, leverage and enhance the existing AI-related funding schemes, with a view to supporting traditional industries with competitive edge (particularly small and medium enterprises) in achieving transformation through the application of AI, whether the authorities will consider the relevant suggestions by introducing enhancement measures and increasing funding for the existing funding schemes, so as to encourage enterprises to enhance competitiveness through the application of AI; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) of the ways to leverage the AI+ strategy to enhance the cross-departmental service quality and efficiency of electronic government services (e-government services) as well as the level of data interoperability and application, such as applying AI in the business version of "iAM Smart" to directly identify funding schemes and e-government services applicable to an enterprise, and automatically assist the corporate user concerned in processing applications, thereby facilitating enterprises of different sizes to reduce operating costs and accelerating the service upgrade of traditional industries with competitive edge?

Reply:

President:

     Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of Hong Kong's core industries. Over the past few years, pursuant to the strategy set out in the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint, we have been actively building a local AI ecosystem, focusing on "strengthening infrastructure and promoting the application-oriented approach" to enhance the synergy among the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, and to fully drive Hong Kong's AI development on multiple dimensions. This development direction is also in line with the national "AI+" initiative.

     In response to the question from the Hon Sunny Tan, my reply is as follows.
 
(1) The Government's systematic AI framework, covering scientific research, computing power, data, talent and funding, provides strong support for Hong Kong to deepen its implementation of the "AI+" initiative and to better support and serve the national high-quality development agenda during the National 15th Five-Year Plan period. In particular, the 2025 Policy Address advocated stepping up promotion of AI applications with a view to achieving "industries for AI" and "AI for industries", which is precisely our "AI+" action agenda. The local technology parks which have attracted nearly 1 000 AI-related enterprises, have also provided significant momentum in the process.

     Taking traditional industries such as the textile industry as mentioned by the Hon Tan as an example, the Hong Kong Productivity Council has established the Hong Kong Industrial Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Centre, focusing on the development of industrial AI and robotics technologies and commercialisation. Projects currently being developed by the Centre cover AI application in various facets of the manufacturing industry, such as logistics, automated assembly, and inspection of product quality.

     Separately, the Government has been supporting traditional industries with competitive advantages in their digital transformation and smart upgrades through the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF). As of the end of last year, ITF has approved funding of over $1.4 billion for AI-related projects, strengthening the manufacturing sector's competitiveness and innovation capacity. At the same time, ITF has already funded more than 350 AI-related projects involving a total funding amount of around $1 billion to promote research and development (R&D) on AI application and AI technology transfer.

(2) "AI for industries" ought to be driven by market demand and application scenarios to put Hong Kong's excellent R&D outcomes into practice. The scope of the various funding schemes under the ITF are comprehensive, providing different levels of technical and financial support to meet the needs of various industries and enterprises at different stages of development. They can also flexibly respond to the demands from the market or enterprises for innovation technologies (including AI), catering for technological change and application scenarios of different sectors.

     In addition, to meet the pressing needs of enterprises for accelerating digital transformation and leveraging AI, the Government is committed to enhancing existing AI-related subsidy schemes. For example, the New Industrialisation Funding Scheme was enhanced in June last year to speed up the process of project approvals, supporting enterprises in leveraging technologies (including AI) for upgrading and transformation. The Scheme has supported over 120 smart production lines so far. Separately, the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme will include AI and cybersecurity digital solutions to encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to use AI to enhance their competitiveness. We are currently drafting the scope of subsidies and implementation details for the new round of the programme, and expect to consult the Legislative Council within this year.

(3) The AI Efficacy Enhancement Team (AIEET) established per the 2025 Policy Address will leverage its planning and co-ordinating power to steer departments in effectively applying AI technologies in their work, exploring process re-engineering, and promoting technological reform in departments. Coupled with the launching of common AI tools over various government functions such as data analysis, customer service and document processing, overall efficacy will be enhanced, thereby better meeting public expectations for efficient administration and quality public services. In the process, the Government will work hand in hand with the industry to leverage AI to provide higher-quality public services that benefit the public and make it easier for businesses. The AIEET targets to launch AI tools covering 100 public administration procedures within 2026, and to expand to no fewer than 200 by end-2027. In addition, AI flagship projects will be rolled out progressively in 2026-27 and 2027-28 to use AI to assist departments in expediting the processes of handling, vetting and approval of various types of licences and permits, as well as applications.

     Additionally, the Digital Policy Office will provide "AI Assistant" for "iAM Smart" and "Digital Corporate Identity (CorpID)", the Government's interdepartmental unified electronic service platforms for the general public and businesses respectively. Based on users' needs and data, the AI Assistant will quickly answer users' enquiries and provide personalised services. In particular, the CorpID will recommend suitable subsidy schemes and public service support to enterprises (especially SMEs), helping them reduce operating costs. We expect to implement the above e-service enhancement measures gradually within this year.

Ends/Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Issued at HKT 13:15

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