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Government budget
strengthens city's IT competitiveness |
The Financial Secretary Mr John C Tsang's latest budget policy address has
proposed a series of IT measures aimed at a “Smarter Hong Kong and Smarter
Living” under the government’s Digital 21 Strategy.
Among the proposed digital initiatives include doubling the number of Wi-Fi
hotspots offering complete or time limited free public internet access to 20,000
hotspots by the end of this year as part of a broader effort to promote
city-wide Wi-Fi; making all government information in machine readable
digital formats to provide more opportunities for the business sector;
digitalizing government operations to increase efficiency for information
sharing and environment protection; widening the use of the "Internet of
Things", sensors and big data analytics to enhance municipal management; and
enhancing the provision of digital identity to all Hong Kong citizens in order
to develop a common, shared and safe platform for the delivery of services.
The Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) will also set up an Enterprise Support
Scheme to provide funding support for research and development activities of
private sector companies with the funding cap increased to $10 million for each
project, and extend the scope of funding to development work and system
integration, industrial design, compliance testing and clinical trials.
For a better ecological environment for technology start-ups in collaboration
with local R&D institutions and universities, the ITF will also provide annual
funding of up to $24 million to six designated universities to provide seed
funding for R&D projects that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.
"Cyberport welcomes the great initiatives by the government set out in the
Budget policy, especially the works and efforts for the ICT industry. We
fully support the Budget to further develop Hong Kong as a Smart City," said
Herman Lam, CEO of Cyberport.
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