HONG KONG, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Paul Chan, financial secretary of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Sunday that funds raised from AI-related IPOs in Hong Kong reached nearly 100 billion HK dollars (about 12.75 billion U.S. dollars) between last December and this May, accounting for about 55 percent of the total IPO funds raised during the period.
Chan wrote on his blog that the country's rapid development in AI has provided a significant boost to Hong Kong's economy and financial markets. Partly driven by robust global demand for advanced electronics and AI-related products, Hong Kong's exports recorded high double-digit growth for several consecutive quarters, helping the city's economic growth in the first half of this year exceed original expectations.
Citing a multinational tech firm's report, Chan added that if local small- and medium-sized enterprises can catch up with large firms in using AI by 2035, it could bring up to 65 billion HK dollars in economic benefits to Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Chan emphasized that Hong Kong must step up efforts to prepare for and address the challenges that evolving frontier technologies may bring to the job market. (1 U.S. dollar equals 7.84 Hong Kong dollars) ■
