Hong Kong Foreign Direct Investment Issue 1 ... - Invest Hong Kong

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8 special feature sme support Funding and Incubator Schemes For Overseas SMEs and Entrepreneurs Hong Kong offers a range of fi nancial and business assistance programmes to support the development of small and medium sized companies (SMEs) and start-ups. This support is available to all companes, regardless of their country of origin Hong Kong may feel like a city of glittering skylines, glamorous shopping and international financiers. But a little known fact is that more than 93% of Hong Kong-based companies are small and medium sized. Hong Kong SMEs – whether locally born or from overseas – are the backbone of Hong Kong’s economy. To support this valuable business community, the Government has a range of schemes available to local and overseas SMEs. For entrepreneurial firms these incubator and financial support initiatives are often essential to the early stages of commercial development. Financial Aid for Equipment and Marketing The SME Loan Guarantee Scheme (SGS) secures loans for companies either looking to buy business equipment or for working capital needs. The maximum guarantee amount for each SME is HK$6 million, but this is based on a guarantee ratio of 50 percent, meaning that the loan amount can be as much as HK$12 million. The SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF) aims to help companies to participate in overseas exhibitions and business missions and to place adverts in trade publications. The EMF will fund up to 50 percent of approved expenses, up to a limit of HK$50,000 for each application. Another recently introduced programme is the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, launched by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation. The scheme provides guarantee coverage of 50 to 70 percent, with the maximum loan amount being HK$12 million. Technology and Innovation Funding You don’t have to be a technology company to benefit from the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF). The fund aims to support companies looking to upgrade their technology and inject innovative ideas into their businesses. One of the leading programmes under the ITF is the Small Entrepreneur Research Assistance Programme (SERAP). SERAP provides pre-venture capital funding to technology entrepreneurs and technology-based companies, with the focus being on funding the R&D of technologies that can be brought to market within two years. Generous Incubator Schemes Offer Invaluable Support One of Hong Kong’s most widely used incubator programmes is provided by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. The scheme includes subsidised office space, consultancy services, investment matching and a small financial aid package to facilitate R&D. Programmes range from two to four years depending on the sector. The aim is to support companies from the research stage through to product development and manufacturing. Promoting Design and Creativity The DesignSmart Initiative encourages SMEs to invest in design projects by providing funding support up to 50 percent of the approved project cost or HK$100,000, whichever is the less. Another design-focused scheme is the Design Incubation Programme (DIP) which provides office space for design tenants at The InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong, as well as professional courses, exhibitions, seminars and workshops. Similarly, Hong Kong’s Cyberport supports the creative digital media industries through the Cyberport Entrepreneurship Centre, Hong Kong Wireless Development Centre and Technology Centre. Its incubation programmes help SMEs and start-ups to commercialise their creative ideas and build their business. Finally, Create Hong Kong’s CreateSmart Initiative provides financial support to SMEs in the creative industries, funding them to participate in overseas exhibitions and competitions to brand build their services and products. Please contact your nearest InvestHK office for more details on these SME support programmes. InvestHK has helped a broad range of companies to apply for funding under various schemes
First Hand Experience from Business Leaders Helps Newcomers InvestHK’s Investment Promotion Ambassadors represent a wide section of Hong Kong’s business community: local, foreign, male, female, experienced and newcomers. What they have in common is a desire to encourage more overseas and Mainland companies to come and set up in Hong Kong “I think it’s true to say that there is no better endorsement of Hong Kong than the success of companies that are based here,” Charles Ng, Associate Director- General at InvestHK, explained. “This is why our investment promotion ambassadors – or IPAs – are so valuable,” he added. The Investment Promotion Ambassador scheme was set up in 2003 and encourages people who run successful businesses in Hong Kong to share their advice and experience with potential new investors. Current IPAs range from chairmen of multinationals to entrepreneurs that have set up successful small businesses. “It’s important to include IPAs from different size companies and different sectors,” Ng said. “Sometimes we need a highly experienced and respected business leader to talk to a large audience in London, New York or Shanghai, and other times we want a young entrepreneur who has been through the experience of setting up and is able to give some relevant advice one-on-one,” he added. Smaller Business Fuels Hong Kong’s Success Many people view Hong Kong as a city of multinationals. But Ng is keen to point out that entrepreneurs, start-ups and small and medium sized companies (SMEs) are the backbone of the city’s economic success. “More than 90 percent of our GDP is generated by the hard work of SMEs,” Ng said. “This is why it is so important for us to include smaller business owners among our IPAs.” Recent additions to the IPA database include young business owners and executives who have started companies in the past five years in the fields of design, retail, manufacturing and wine. “Our new IPAs are excellent mentors to other new business owners who want to understand the opportunities in Hong Kong at the current time,” Ng said. special feature ipa programme Newly appointed IPAs, clockwise from left, Keith Griffiths, Chairman, Aedas Ltd; Nicolas Borit, Managing Director, Dragages Hong Kong Ltd; Deborah Leung, General Manager – Greater China, CPA Australia Hong Kong China Division. Women Business Leaders Offer Practical Tips Another update to the scheme has been the inclusion of more women business managers and owners. “Hong Kong is rare among Asian cities in allowing the spouses of overseas executives living in Hong Kong to easily find work, or set up their own business,” Ng said. “We need to encourage and support more women to see the opportunities in Hong Kong and to set up business ventures that create new jobs,” he added. Finally, the IPAs play a key role in raising awareness of the services that InvestHK offers overseas business people. “About one in five of our IPAs live overseas, but have strong experience of working in Hong Kong,” Ng explained. “These business people network widely in their own countries and are excellent at identifying companies that are keen to expand into China or the wider Asia region. They are an invaluable resource to InvestHK and the business community in Hong Kong,” he said. 9
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Page 15 and 16: 1.618 Brings Italian Design Excelle

Hong Kong Foreign Direct Investment Issue 1 ... - Invest Hong Kong

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