Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Government announced today (December 22) the appointments to the Steering Committee of the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus (RAISe+) Scheme under the Innovation and Technology Fund for 2026-2027. Mr Duncan Chiu was reappointed as the Chairman of the Committee, while 15 non-official members were reappointed and two new non-official members were appointed. The appointments are for a term of two years starting from January 1, 2026. 
      
     The Committee is responsible for vetting eligible applications under the RAISe+ Scheme. Members are drawn from the research, academic, industry and investment sectors. 
 
     The membership of the Committee is as follows:
 
Chairman
————
Mr Duncan Chiu
 
Non-official Members
—————————–
Professor Bian Zhaoxiang
Professor Cai Hongbin
Dr Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu
Professor Chan Chi-hou
Professor Francis Chan Ka-leung
Mr Simon Chan Sai-ming
Dr Hu Zhanghong
Ms Vanessa Huang Yifei
Dr Leung Chuen-yan*
Ms Li Qianxin
Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong
Professor Randy Poon Yat-choi
Mr Sunny Tan
Mr Patrick Tsang Shun-fuk
Professor Tu Wenwei
Professor Wong Wing-tak
Professor Zhang Qian*
 
Ex-officio Members
—————————-
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry or his/her representative
Commissioner for Innovation and Technology or his/her representative
 
(* New appointee)

     The Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Mr Ivan Lee, said, “We would like to express our gratitude to the current members of the Committee for their support and contribution in the past two years and extend our sincere appreciation to the outgoing members, Professor Li Zexiang and Professor Teng Jin-guang. We trust that the Committee, under the leadership of Mr Chiu, will continue to provide valuable knowledge and advice to the Committee in the assessment of applications under the RAISe+ Scheme.”
      
     The RAISe+ Scheme was launched in 2023 to unleash the potential of local universities in the “1 to N” transformation and commercialisation of research and development outcomes and facilitate relevant collaboration among the Government, industries, universities and research sectors. It will fund, on a matching basis, research teams from the eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee, which have good potential to become successful start-ups. Funding support from $10 million to $100 million will be provided to each approved project. A total of 49 projects were supported by the Scheme in the first two batches. The third round of applications was closed at the end of October 2025, and assessment of the applications is under way. Details are available on the ITF website (www.itf.gov.hk). For enquiries, please contact the Secretariat of the Scheme (Tel: 3543 5904; email: raiseplus@itc.gov.hk).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau sponsored the participation of selected original Hong Kong comic works under the fourth edition of the Hong Kong Comics Support Programme (HKCSP) at the Comic Fiesta 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and set up the Hong Kong Pavilion to facilitate the industry’s expansion into overseas markets and promote exchanges between the Hong Kong and Southeast Asian comic industries.

     Comic Fiesta 2025 took place on December 20 and 21. In addition to showcasing the 16 original Hong Kong comic works under the fourth edition of the HKCSP at the Hong Kong Pavilion, CCIDA sponsored the authors of the 16 comic works to attend the event in person and conduct drawing sessions. The set-up of the Hong Kong Pavilion was also supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. The two-day event attracted an enthusiastic response with around 10 000 visitors recorded, demonstrating Hong Kong’s strong cultural soft power.

     The HKCSP nurtures Hong Kong comic artists and supports local comic companies. Since its launch in 2021, the HKCSP has supported publication of 63 original Hong Kong comic works, some of which won prestigious international awards. Through participating in overseas events such as the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France and Comic Fiesta in Malaysia, and local events such as Ani-Com & Games Hong Kong, comic works developed under the HKCSP have secured nearly 40 licensing agreements for publishing in different languages, showing the vast potential of Hong Kong creative industries. For more information about the HKCSP, please visit www.hkcsp.hk.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

​The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (December 22) announced that the Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase I (I·PARK1) has commenced the first phase of trial operation.
 
The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan; the Permanent Secretary for Environment and Ecology (Environment), Mr Eddie Cheung; the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong; and the Director of Environmental Protection, Dr Samuel Chui, recently visited I·PARK1 to inspect its operations, observing various facility sections, including the unloading and tipping of waste compactor containers, waste treatment processes, waste-to-energy equipment, and flue gas treatment and emission control. They were also briefed by the project team on the progress of the trial operation.
 
Located on an artificial island off Shek Kwu Chau, I·PARK1 adopts advanced waste incineration technology capable of effectively decomposing organic compounds, including dioxins. I·PARK1 consists of three incineration modules, with a designed municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment capacity of 3 000 tonnes per day. At present, the first module, capable of processing 1 000 tonnes of MSW daily, has already commenced trial operation. The remaining two modules will begin phased trial operations at a later stage. The heat recovered from the incineration process is used to generate electricity, not only powering the facility’s daily operation but also exporting 480 million kilowatt-hours of electricity to the public power grid, which is enough to power 100 000 households each year.
 
Following the inspection, Mr Tse said, “The completion and phased commissioning of I·PARK1 marks the launch of a new approach for managing MSW in Hong Kong beyond reliance on landfills. It signifies a crucial step of Hong Kong toward achieving our target of ‘zero waste landfilling’ by 2035. In the meantime, we are advancing at full steam the construction of the Integrated Waste Management Facility Phase 2 (I·PARK2) in Tsang Tsui, Tuen Mun, while we remain committed to driving forward various initiatives on waste reduction, recycling, and resource circulation, continuing our progress toward the goal of ‘zero waste landfilling’ and carbon neutrality.”
 
Dr Chui said that the EPD has been closely monitoring the trial operation of I·PARK1 to ensure its operation and emissions comply with the stringent safety and environmental standards. Following I·PARK1’s progressive commencement of operation, the total amount of MSW transported to West New Territories Landfill and North East New Territories Landfill will be reduced accordingly, alleviating the pressure on the two landfills.
 
In 2024, a total of 10 510 tonnes of MSW daily was disposed of in Hong Kong. I.PARK1 and the proposed I.PARK2 can treat 9 000 tonnes of MSW in total per day. If Hong Kong society can keep the momentum of waste reduction and increase the recycling rate, there may not be a need to construct I·PARK3 to achieve “zero waste landfilling”.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Government announced today (December 22) the official launch of the intellectual property (IP) financing sandbox and the opening of the Hong Kong Technology and Innovation Support Centre (HKTISC), marking key milestones in promoting IP financing and further developing Hong Kong’s IP trading ecosystem while fostering innovation.

     The Chief Executive announced in the 2025 Policy Address the launch of the sandbox to assist pilot sectors (particularly the technology sector) in leveraging IPs for financing with the support of the banking, insurance, valuation, legal and other professions. The sandbox will provide a collaborative and risk-controlled environment for stakeholders to test out the full lifecycle of IP financing and accumulate practical experience in providing IP financing.

     With the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) deliberation, the sandbox is underpinned by the following four core operating principles:

(1) Recognition of IP value: Participating banks will consider the value of IPs owned by borrowing enterprises, alongside the borrower’s credit demand, financial position and repayment ability in their credit underwriting process.

(2) Independent and standardised valuation: To ensure credibility, IP valuation will be conducted by independent service providers using universally accepted methods. Where appropriate, qualitative patent evaluation reports can be obtained to support this process. 

(3) Risk management: Participating banks should comply with applicable supervisory requirements on risk management, while participating enterprises should comply with the legal and regulatory requirements in respect of maintaining and developing the IP assets concerned.

(4) Stakeholder collaboration: The initiative relies on a cohesive ecosystem. It brings together enterprises that hold IP assets, banks, valuation experts, legal practitioners and other relevant professionals to co-create successful financing transactions.

     The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, said that the IP financing sandbox, together with other related measures announced in “The Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address”, would help leverage Hong Kong’s unique strengths to build an ecosystem where IP is protected with rigour, valued with clarity, and financed with confidence, with a view to strengthening Hong Kong’s role as a regional IP trading centre.

     By enabling enterprises to leverage their IP assets for financing, the sandbox will help unlock a new financing channel, thereby supporting the commercialisation of outcomes of research and development as well as creativity, and promoting innovation and technology as a key driver of economic growth.

     Three major banks have committed to participating in the sandbox, while nearly 30 professional firms from the legal and valuation sectors have indicated keen interest in participating. The CEDB, the IPD and the HKMA will closely monitor the progress of the pilot projects, gather feedback, and provide guidance as needed. It is anticipated that several trial cases are in the pipeline for the first phase of the sandbox.

     In addition, the HKTISC that officially commenced full operations today is another key complementary initiative in promoting IP financing. With the support of the IPD, the HKTISC will closely engage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the innovation and technology sector and provide a qualitative patent evaluation service to assess, based on national standards, the quality of their patents from legal, technological and economic perspectives. The Government will also launch a support scheme through the HKTISC in 2026 to financially assist SMEs to engage professional service providers for the valuation of their whole IP portfolios in monetary terms. 

     These integrated measures aim to provide an objective reference about the strengths of the patents and the monetary valuation of the whole IP portfolios owned by the SMEs, facilitating more effective credit assessment and investment analysis.

     The Technology and Innovation Support Centre is a dedicated programme of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which supports researchers and innovators at different stages of the innovation cycle, helping them make use of the IP system (especially by means of patents) to protect their inventions and guiding them to bring the technology to market. With the recognition of the Hong Kong Productivity Council as a Technology and Innovation Support Centre hosting institution by the China National Intellectual Property Administration and WIPO, the HKTISC will join the 200-plus strong Technology and Innovation Support Centre network in the country, which promotes better integration of Hong Kong into overall national development.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

Tenders to be held in the week beginning December 29, 2025:
 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), in collaboration with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) and the Intellectual Property Department (IPD), launched the Intellectual Property (IP) Financing Sandbox today (December 22). 
      
     As set out in “The Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address”, the IP Financing Sandbox aims to assist pilot sectors in leveraging IP assets for financing. 
      
     The Sandbox serves to provide a collaborative and risk-controlled environment for banks, IP valuation firms, legal practitioners and other relevant professions to test the full lifecycle of IP financing arrangements that are based on IP assets such as patents, trademarks and copyrights. 
      
     Through the Sandbox, banks can develop and refine their IP financing arrangements with the support from multidisciplinary professionals as well as guidance by the HKMA, the CEDB and the IPD. This initiative can also enable banks to accumulate practical experience in providing IP financing to better serve the needs of innovative enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises which are rich in IP assets but may lack tangible assets that can be pledged as collateral for bank financing.
      
     Three major banks in Hong Kong have joined the Sandbox as inaugural participants, and have solicited interests from clients from the biotechnology, electronics and technology sectors to conduct pilot trials of IP financing through the Sandbox (see Annex).