On 18 October 2021, City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and China Resources Enterprise Limited (CRE) signed the official agreement to co-establish an innovation and entrepreneurship platform. With a total allocation of HK$100 million as the first phase investment, each party invested HK$50 million to establish a joint venture in Hong Kong. The platform will focus on innovative technology and start-ups in Life Science and Health, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, helping them become unicorns in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area.

In March, CityU announced an allocation of HK$500 million to launch a large-scale flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme, HK Tech 300. The programme is organised for aspiring entrepreneurs among CityU students, alumni, research staff and others to launch start-ups and ignite their entrepreneurship journey. HK Tech 300 aims to create 300 start-ups in three years, providing educational and growth opportunities for CityU students, and translating CityU research results and intellectual properties into practical applications. A total of 152 start-up teams have already been granted a seed fund (HK$100,000 for each team) under HK Tech 300, and the results of the Angel Fund are expected to be announced soon.

According to the agreement, CityU will recommend HK Tech 300 start-up projects for the joint venture’s consideration and selection, whereas CRE will provide industry support and market resources. Both parties will share the research results (e.g. patents), income generated by business conversion, bonus shares and transfer income of invested start-ups, in proportion to their investment amounts.

Both parties agree that the first phase funding will mainly be invested in start-ups that have already obtained angel fund to facilitate their development and industrialisation. Part of it will be invested in the HK Tech 300 Angel Fund. CRE and CityU will each appoint two members forming a new board of directors and investor council responsible for reviewing and approving investment projects of different scales. All decisions made by the board of directors and the investment council will only pass upon approval by all four members.

The agreement was signed by Mr Chen Ying, Assistant General Manager of China Resources Group, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Resources Enterprise Limited, and Mr Sunny Lee Wai-kwong, Vice-President (Administration) of CityU and Managing Director of CityU Enterprises Limited on 18 of October 2021. Mr Alfred Sit Wing-hang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, HKSAR Government, and Mr Liu Zhiming, General Manager of Beijing-Hong Kong Exchange of Personnel Centre Limited, witnessed the signing.

CRE Chairman and CEO Mr Chen Ying hoped that with the diversified industrial advantages of China Resources Group and the research strength of CityU, the focus will be on transforming the excellent science and technology projects in laboratory to commercialisation, accelerating their productisation and scaling up with the investments made in them. It was hoped that these high-quality start-ups would become Hong Kong's technology benchmark enterprises, injecting new impetus into economic development.

As for investment goals and principles, Chen Ying revealed that they will first consider investing in shares that can have a great impact in the development of the invested enterprises. By making full use of China Resources’ industrial scale and exploring synergy opportunities, it aims to help the start-ups grow rapidly and become industry leaders.

Further, Chen stated that CRE would focus on building a new industry investment incubation platform during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. It aims to transfer outstanding scientific research achievements overseas into technologies and connect them seamlessly with the market by coordinating collaboration among universities, research institutes, industries and enterprises, supporting Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub.

Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Vice-President (Research and Technology) of CityU and the Chairman of the HK Tech 300 Executive Committee, pointed out that CityU has been actively promoting innovation and is committed to transforming outstanding university research results into practical applications. As Asia's leading university-based innovation and entrepreneurship programme, HK Tech 300 fully assists CityU’s students, alumni and young people in Hong Kong to transform their innovative ideas into high-quality start-ups.

Yang said, “As one of the top 100 largest companies globally, China Resources Group has its own strength and capabilities in various industries. CityU is pleased to cooperate with CRW to promote and accelerate innovation and technology development in Hong Kong. Through our partnership with CRE, we believe the HK Tech 300 start-ups with the most potential will be nurtured to be the leading technological enterprises, promoting innovative technology and industrialisation of products to help combat major global crises related to health, environment and development. Their contributions will greatly benefit the technological innovation and economic development in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and beyond.”

Alfred Sit Wing-hang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology in the HKSAR Government, remarked in his speech that the development of innovation and technology in a place is dependent on the joint effort of all stakeholders as well as the collaboration among “government, industry, academia and the research sector”. The partnership between CityU and CRE in establishing an innovation and entrepreneurship platform is a good example to show that university-enterprise cooperation can generate a strong synergy effect and accelerate the technology transfer by building on the strength of both parties. He looks forward to build a better future for Hong Kong under the joint effort of everyone and working with everyone to support the industrialisation of start-ups.