Government Support & Key Initiatives

Key initiatives announced in the 2019/20 Budget include:

Provide a 50 percent profits tax concession to marine insurance businesses
Set aside $5.5 billion for the development of Cyberport 5 to accommodate more technology companies and start-ups
Set aside $16 billion for universities to enhance or refurbish campus facilities, in particular those for R&D
Inject $20 billion into the Research Endowment Fund for more research projects
Establish two innovative clusters in the Science Park focusing on “A.I. and robotic technologies” and “healthcare technologies”
Launch the $2 billion Re-industrialisation Funding Scheme in 2019
Expand the Corporate Venture Fund of the Science Park to $200 million
Allocate $800 million to support R&D by universities, key laboratories and engineering research centres
Inject $1 billion into the Film Development Fund
Allocate $150 million to support the development of an online international dispute resolution platform by NGOs
Issue the first batch of government green bonds
Provide a $400 million seed capital for the Financial Reporting Council
Allocate $353 million for the continued implementation of the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry

2019-20年度財政預算案中提出的建議包括：

寬免海事保險業務一半利得稅。
預留55億元發展數碼港第五期，容納更多科技公司和初創企業。
預留160億元供大學增建或翻新校舍設施，尤其是科研設備。
向大學教育資助委員會轄下研究資助局研究基金注資200億元，提供研究經費。
推展2個專注「人工智能及機械人科技」和「醫療科技」的創新平台。
今年推行20億元「再工業化資助計劃」。
擴大科技園公司「科技企業投資基金」至2億元。
撥款8億元，支持大學、重點實驗室及工程技術中心進行科研及研發成果轉化。
向「電影發展基金」注資10億元。
撥款1億5千萬元，支持非政府機構開發國際爭議解決網上平台。
發行首批政府綠色債券。
為財務匯報局提供4億元種子基金。
撥款3億5千3百萬元，繼續落實《香港旅遊業發展藍圖》。

Key initiatives announced in the 2018/19 Budget include:

Provide tax relief to small and medium-sized enterprises: profits tax rate for the first $2 million of profits proposed is lowered to 8.25 percent, and standard tax rate at 16.5 percent for profits exceeding that amount.
Encourage research and development (R&D) investment by enterprises, propose to introduce a 300 percent tax deduction for the first $2 million eligible R&D expenditure, with the remainder at 200 percent.
Increase the total number of comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements to be signed with other tax jurisdictions to 50 in the next few years.
Focus on four key areas: biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), smart city and financial technologies
Inject $10 billion as university research funding to encourage private companies to increase investment in R&D.
Kick-start the $500 million “Technology Talent Scheme” to train and pool technology talent, and through the injection of $3 billion into the Research Endowment Fund, provide studentships for local students admitted to research postgraduate programmes funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC); and subsidise local enterprises on a matching basis for training their staff on advanced manufacturing technologies.
Set aside $20 billion for the first phase of the“Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park” at the Lok Ma Chau Loop, and through the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development and collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, develop an international IT hub in the Bay Area

2018-19年度財政預算案中提出的建議包括：

紓緩中小企稅務負擔，企業首200萬元利得稅率降至8.25%，其後利潤按標準稅率16.5%評稅。
為推動企業投資科研，建議首200萬元合資格研發開支獲300%扣稅，餘額獲200%扣稅。
預期在未來數年，與其他稅務管轄區簽訂全面性避免雙重課稅協定的數目增加至50份。
四項重點發展範圍包括生物科技、人工智能(AI)、智慧城市及金融科技。
除提供稅務誘因鼓勵企業投資研發外，為大學研究資金額外投放100億元。
啓動5億元的「科技專才培育計劃」，訓練和匯聚科技人才；透過向研究基金注資30億元，為修讀大學教育資助委員會（教資會）資助的研究院課程的本地學生提供助學金；並以配對形式資助本地企業人員接受先進製造技術的培訓。
為落馬洲河套地區「港深創新及科技園」第一期預留200億元，並透過「粵港澳大灣區」發展和深港合作，打造大灣區國際創科中心。