Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Tuesday the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises, OASES, will seek to attract cultural enterprises in the future in a way that combines innovation and technology with artistry.

He made the comments at a signing ceremony between the office and 16 companies, including Ant Digital Technologies and China Mobile Innovation Research Institute.

Chan said the creative and cultural industries hold huge power and their development is unstoppable.

“This sector, enriching lives, sparking joy and preaching cultures, is among the fastest growing in the world,” he said.

"How artistic toys and animation have captivated audiences globally is simply amazing.

“Through Hong Kong's platform, creative pioneers can indeed extend their reach across continents.”

Chan also said more than 80 strategic enterprises have set up in Hong Kong in the past two years, and will bring nearly HK$50 billion worth of investment and create more than 20,000 jobs.

Car company Li Auto is among the companies securing a partnership agreement with OASES.

Its senior vice president, Li Guanhua, said the company is looking to invest around HK$20 billion in the city.

“We chose to come to Hong Kong to develop a core research centre this year because we value Hong Kong’s position in the whole economic, financial and fintech aspect,” she said.

"Our investment in Hong Kong will be long term."

Li said the Hong Kong office will serve as an offshore clearing centre, as well as a research centre for AI facilities.

When asked whether US tariffs would affect company sales, Li said the firm only started developing its overseas market this year but the United States would not be its target.

Another company, Enlight Medical, said Hong Kong provides a stable environment given the current chaos created by US tariffs.

“The Hong Kong government said it will not follow Beijing’s decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on the US,” said co-founder Rocky Bian of the health technology company.

"This helps us stabilise our global supply chain.

“Hong Kong is a free port. Apart from re-export trades, the city also provides stability in importing machine components and raw materials from the US.”

Bian said the company will hire around 900 workers in a few years time, spanning from researchers to quality assurance talent.

The cost of operating in Hong Kong, he added, does not differ by much from mainland cities.

Web 3 auditing company CertiK said it hopes to safeguard technology development in Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong is a hub of the financial supply chain and market, and the government is also promoting and encouraging business development in this area,” said its chief security officer Li Kang.

"But they are also under pressure due to risks in the new area.

“We are here to try to safeguard institutions against risk.

"We can help make sure users make the right investments and secure their assets.”

Li added that the company has already been serving one of the largest banks in Hong Kong.