HKSTP Ecosystem Scores Seven Major Partnerships to Cement Hong Kong and Middle East as Global Innovation Powers

(Hong Kong, 12 March, 2024) – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) completed an epic Middle East delegation with a total of seven ecosystem and park company partnerships with innovation and technology leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to reinforce the strength of the world-class I&T ecosystems of Hong Kong and the Middle East.

HKSTP secured two major partnerships, while another five deals were signed by park companies who were making waves across the Middle East. The landmark delegation was led by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, while eight park companies also joined the Hong Kong innovation force at LEAP 2024. The quality and ambition on show led HKSTP and its park companies score big wins in the mission to forge a truly global innovation community, while tapping into global opportunities that will support a multilateral technology future for all.

Park company and leading provider of EV charging solutions, Halo Energy Limited (Halo), secured two major Middle East partnerships in the UAE and Qatar. The Hong Kong greentech firm signed an MoU with J.S. Lootah Group, a property developer in Dubai, to explore EV charging deployment and investment in Middle East region. Halo’s second MoU was signed with Gallery Five Group, a leading conglomerate in Doha, with their partnership focused on EV charging collaboration and services expansion in Qatar.

The UAE leg of the delegation also saw a trilateral MoU between Hong Kong’s TrillionsMed Biotech (TrillionsMed), the Dubai Economic Development Corporation (Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism) and ShineWing (HK) CPA Limited, acting as advisors in securing partnership. TrillionsMed is a subsidiary of HKSTP park company Able Trillion, which focuses on biotech and green tech investments. The partnership will expand TrillionsMed’s international footprint with an R&D presence in the UAE, with a focus on developing technologies in human and veterinary diagnostics and lab testing.

Arup-backed park company and smart building solutions provider, Neuron Digital Group (Neuron Digital), signed an MoU with Geoloc Star, a Dubai-based smart city technologies venture. The deal commits Geoloc Star to adopt Neuron Digital’s platform to promote energy saving and green building solutions, with a target to implement the solution for 100 commercial buildings in the next 18 months.

Mr Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said: “This series of landmark partnership deals between the Middle East and HK-GBA ecosystems are bold examples of the vision and boundless ambition from the two regions. We have cemented our status as forces on the world innovation stage and our partnerships will pave the way for global tech ventures to realise their full potential as we leap into a new era of innovation and a multilateral technology future.”

HKSTP is also committed to continually growing its network of strategic Middle East partners with a partnership agreed with Tsangs Group, a Hong Kong family office that has been central to helping many companies, including HKSTP park companies to build Middle East relationships. The agreed partnership will facilitate startups’ market expansion efforts in the regions.

Before hitting UAE, the Hong Kong delegation first stopped at LEAP 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, dubbed the largest tech show in the world. This global platform saw HKSTP sign a strategic MoU with Saudi Arabia’s leading technology R&D government institution, the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), binding the two ecosystems to collaborate on technology, industry best practices and support for startups across the two ecosystem networks. Fellow Park company GenEditBio also signed an MoU with Anwa Biosciences, a leading Saudi genomics firm, for collaborating on use of cutting-edge CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology to combat genetic diseases.

Other highlights from the Middle East delegation included a trip to Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City and Hub 71. The former one is a leading business, research and development hub with comprehensive ecosystem while the latter one driving corporates to innovate, start business and look for funding support. The delegation also visited the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP) to explore how it enables the development of innovative ecosystems, and supports collaboration between government, industry and academia to promote R&D.

For more information on LEAP 2024, please visit:
https://www.hkstp.org/our-community/events-and-happenings/leap-2024/