Five to 10 companies backed by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s investment arm are considering initial public offerings in the city, the CEO of the Hong Kong Investment Corp (HKIC) said on Thursday.
Speaking at the inaugural International Forum for Patient Capital, Clara Chan Ka-chai said these companies have performed well, outpacing expectations in multiple areas like growth, fundraising, and overseas expansion.
She said that the HKIC has invested in more than 100 projects since its establishment in October 2022, focusing on three key sectors — hard and core technology, biotechnology, as well as new energy and green technology. Several of these investments are preparing for IPOs in Hong Kong, and are expected to file listing applications within the year.
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“Innovation and technology is always our focus, and areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are leading the growth,” Chan said.
She also highlighted the leveraging effect of its investment, saying that each dollar deployed by the corporation has drawn in an additional $4 of long-term private capital.
The forum drew 80 patient capital institutions from 15 countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, Europe and the Middle East, with combined assets under management surpassing $20 trillion. These institutions manages a wide range of funds, such as sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and family offices.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his opening remarks that patient capital typically has long-term vision and the courage to weather the ups and downs of economic cycles.
He said such patient capital can fund the realignment of supply chains and the localization of critical industries, as the world grapples with geo-economic fragmentation and its effect on growth and investment flows.
During the forum, the HKIC announced a series of partnerships that are believed would attract global capital and support local and regional development.
It has partnered with Asia-focused venture capital firm Gobi Partners to launch the Patient Capital Strategic Fund, with the aim of mobilizing sovereign wealth funds and other long-term investors and matching them with universities in Hong Kong to drive next-generation technologies.
Chibo Tang, managing partner of Gobi Partners, said he believes that Hong Kong’s future unicorns — startups usually valued at over $1 billion — will come from its universities, considering the rising international rankings of these institutions and the growing number of overseas scholars joining them.
But he acknowledges that Hong Kong’s universities lag behind their international peers in the commercialization of research outcomes, and more capital could help them accelerate the transformation of untapped technology findings.
The HKIC is also collaborating with Gaw Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity fund management company that focuses on real estate markets, to establish the International Strategic Expansion Platform for the commercialization of startups’ research findings. The first phase of this platform will develop and deepen a presence in the Global South markets, particularly the Middle East.
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The Co-investment Partnership Programme jointly set up with Lanchi Ventures, a company that invests in early stage technology startups, will support Chinese tech entrepreneurs with global vision and cutting-edge innovations, to promote the country’s technological capabilities on the world stage.
Contact the writer at irisli@chinadailyhk.com
