HONG KONG, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The new budget by China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has set "AI+" and "Finance+" as two key pillars, aiming to lift Hong Kong's high-quality development to a higher level amid accelerated economic transformation, said Paul Chan, financial secretary of the HKSAR government.
In a blog post published on Sunday, Chan said that he will establish and chair the Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy, bringing together experts, academics and business representatives to formulate strategies for accelerating the development of various industries driven by AI, with a view to catalyzing industrial innovation.
Hong Kong is pressing ahead with the development of several industrial parks in the Northern Metropolis and speeding up the construction of computing infrastructure in the data facility cluster at Sandy Ridge. These efforts will support research, development and application of cutting-edge technologies such as AI and life and health sciences, while providing room for the growth of high-end manufacturing, he said.
On the "Finance+" front, Chan said finance provides solid support for technological innovation and the development of the real economy, adding that innovation in financial services itself further helps expand the real economy and address its bottlenecks.
As AI integrates with industrial upgrading and deepens convergence with the financial sector, demand for a host of new professional services will emerge at a faster pace, he said.
It is foreseeable that Hong Kong needs more enterprises adept at using AI, as well as financial and professional services personnel with a good grasp of AI and innovative technologies, Chan said.
This will enrich Hong Kong's role as an international financial center, and enable the integration of finance, technological innovation and industrial upgrading to contribute to the building of a modern industrial system for the country.
Leveraging Hong Kong's strengths in light of local conditions and actively aligning with national development strategies represents the only path for the city to achieve better development, he noted. ■
