Can John Lee untie the 4 knots choking the tech loop in Northern Metropolis?
Por Elizabeth Cheung,Vivian Au — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Hong Kong society Hong Kong Society Can John Lee untie the 4 knots choking the tech loop in Northern Metropolis?
What measures will the chief executive take to facilitate the flow of personnel, capital, data and materials into the hi-tech cooperation zone?
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Elizabeth Cheung and Vivian Au Published: 10:30am, 11 Sep 2026 Updated: 10:31am, 11 Sep 2026 In the second of our series of previews on the five-year plan and policy address, to be announced on September 16, Elizabeth Cheung and Vivian Au drill down on what’s holding back the Northern Metropolis. Read part one here .
For employees of surgical robotics company Yuanhua Tech, travelling between their Shenzhen base in Nanshan district and its Hong Kong office in the Science Park means a two-hour commute.
And when the hi-tech firm sends money to Hong Kong for operations, the process can take up to two months.
“The procedures required for transferring funding from our Shenzhen headquarters to Hong Kong headquarters are very complicated … sometimes when we are urgently in need of money, there could be delays,” said Max Meng Qinghu, the company’s chief scientist.
But the Hong Kong office will move into the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park at the border with mainland China, part of the wider Hetao cooperation zone at the Lok Ma Chau Loop, by the end of this year. By then, those challenges could be addressed.
All eyes will be on the measures city leader John Lee Ka-chiu announces in the city’s first five-year plan and his policy blueprint next Wednesday to facilitate the flow of personnel, capital, data and materials, such as biosamples, across the border within the zone.
Experts stress that the timely movement of the four elements is critical to the park’s success. Major streamlining in these areas could resolve current bottlenecks in research, recruitment and operations, unleashing the full potential of hi-tech companies and boosting the zone’s overall appeal.
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