Hong Kong to set up first national innovation centre outside mainland China

South China Morning Post · Feb 25, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Hong Kong will establish the first national manufacturing innovation centre outside mainland China and a high-level steering committee to spearhead AI development, the finance chief has said, as the city seeks to align with the country’s 15th five-year plan.Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also unveiled a citywide artificial intelligence (AI) literacy drive in Wednesday’s budget, earmarking funds for various organisations to set up courses on the technology.“We must embrace the 15th five-year plan with an innovative mindset, fostering new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions,” Chan said.The 15th five-year plan, which will guide national development from 2026 to 2030, will support Hong Kong to better integrate into the country’s overall development, consolidate its traditional advantages and build an international innovation and technology hub.In a related initiative, Chan said the government’s investment arm, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation, would take a major step forward in setting up a Hong Kong RISC-V Alliance with enterprises. The alliance will facilitate investment and development in open-source chip technology through cross-industry cooperation in the Greater Bay Area and international collaboration.04:25Record surplus prompts Hong Kong government to offer tax relief, sweetenersRecord surplus prompts Hong Kong government to offer tax relief, sweetenersRISC-V, or the fifth generation of the reduced instruction set computer, is an open-source chip architecture that can be used for central processing units (CPUs) in electronic products such as personal computers and smartphones.