Financial Secretary Paul Chan said thriving financial and innovation ecosystems are reinforcing each other to become a key engine for the high-quality development of Hong Kong’s economy, adding that the SAR should serve as an international platform to contribute to the Greater Bay Area development.

Writing on his weekly blog on Sunday, Chan said the SAR held multiple events and innovative competitions over the past week, gathering global leaders in the finance, investment and innovation sectors.

He said the Hong Kong FinTech Week and StartmeupHK Festival joined forces for the first time this year, attracting 45,000 participants and 800 exhibitors including start-ups from various fields such as fintech, artificial intelligence, life science, green technology and new energy.

Many participants from the mainland and overseas were impressed by the internationalisation of the events, demonstrating the SAR’s appeal, he said.

Another mega event, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks’ flagship start-up competition “EPIC 2025”, saw a record number of applicants of over 1,200, of which 87 percent were non-local teams, Chan added.

“This showed that start-ups from all around the world are actively seeking greater development opportunities through Hong Kong which serves as an international platform,” Chan said.

The financial secretary also said the innovation ecosystem in Hong Kong has achieved remarkable development, with the number of local start-ups surging by 40 percent over the past five years.

Hong Kong offers a thriving fundraising and financing environment for these companies, he added.