From “Reindustrialization” to “Re-Innovation and Technologization”: A Strategic Study on Upgrading the Capacity of Hong Kong’s Innovation Ecosystem

Abstract

Innovation and Technology (I&T) constitute an important pillar of Hong Kong’s re-industrialization agenda and sustained global competitiveness. While benefitting from top-tier universities, a diverse talent pool, and strong global connectivity, Hong Kong faces increasingly severe structural challenges. These include lack of strategic moves of cutting-edge technologies, limited integration across the industry-academia-research-application fields, and slow technology diffusion. In response to these systemic gaps, this study advocates for a pivot to drive “innovation and technologization.” The goal is to comprehensively assess Hong Kong’s innovation ecosystem, diagnose key bottlenecks, and benchmark its performance against world’s leading IT hubs. The study employs a hybrid approach, combining quantitative analysis of longitudinal data from 2015–2024 with case studies, aiming to identify practical pathways to enhance the capabilities, efficiency, and dynamism of the local innovation system. A quantitative assessment of the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Ecosystem Index reveals that while Hong Kong’s overall score is trending upward, the development across the five dimensions is unbalanced. This study proposes a “Re-innovation and Technologization” strategic framework, suggesting strengthening intellectual property protection, establishing a deep integration mechanism of industry, academia, research, and application, and building a Greater Bay Area collaboration network.