Qiu Yinghua: By the end of February, the BUD Special Fund has received over 32,000 applications.

On April 1st, Edward Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of Hong Kong, stated at a Legislative Council meeting that the Hong Kong government will introduce measures to streamline the use of the "BUD Special Fund" in the most effective way to ensure its financial sustainability by March 2025. As of the end of February 2026, the fund has received over 32,000 applications. In 2025, the "BUD Special Fund" received approximately 5,350 applications, an increase of over 210% compared to 2019, reflecting the industry's continued strong demand for the fund. Yau introduced that the "Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales Support Scheme" ("BUD Special Fund"), launched in 2012, has been providing assistance to the industry, encouraging non-listed Hong Kong enterprises to develop branding, upgrade and expand marketing efforts, and expand business in economies with which Hong Kong has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and/or Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs). To further support enterprises, the Hong Kong government launched the "Easy Application" in June 2023 to expedite the approval of applications involving specific measures, and introduced "e-Commerce Easy" in July 2024 to encourage flexible use of funding for e-commerce projects. The matching funding ratio of the "BUD Special Fund" was adjusted in March 2025, and its effectiveness needs to be evaluated over time. Furthermore, in March 2025, the Hong Kong government also relaxed the application frequency for "Easy Application" and provided more targeted funding for green transformation and restructuring production lines. They plan to implement a series of optimization measures in the second quarter of 2026, including expanding the fund's coverage area announced in the 2025 Policy Address, enhancing promotion, assisting companies to participate in exhibitions and export promotion activities through "Easy Application", and increasing the funding limit for each application of "Easy Application" from HK$100,000 to HK$150,000, as well as providing more targeted support for projects under the "BUD Special Fund" that include artificial intelligence elements. Therefore, government needs to review the financial impact of these measures. Yau stated that the current coverage area of the "BUD Special Fund" includes economies with which Hong Kong has signed FTAs and/or IPPAs covering over 80% of Hong Kong's total goods trade in 2025. The 2025 Policy Address announced an expansion of the fund's coverage area by 20% to include an additional eight economies. The Hong Kong Commerce and Economic Development Bureau plans to seek approval from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in the second quarter of 2026 to expand the fund's coverage area to a total of 48 economies. As Hong Kong signs more FTAs or IPPAs in the future, the coverage area of the "BUD Special Fund" will gradually expand accordingly. As of the end of 2025, the successful approval rates for "Easy Application" and "e-Commerce Easy" were 60% and 41%, respectively. The success rates depend on the quality of individual applications and whether they meet the funding criteria. The main reasons for unsuccessful applications include companies not meeting the requirement of having substantial business operations in Hong Kong, or not obtaining the necessary licenses to operate in the target market. "e-Commerce Easy" has been launched for less than two years, and some applications are still pending submission of proof of documentation, so the success rate does not take these applications into account. As of the end of February 2026, no company has used up the maximum cumulative funding amount of HK$7 million set for each enterprise under the "BUD Special Fund", and only approximately 1% of funded enterprises have utilized HK$4 million or more. Therefore, the current maximum funding limit of HK$7 million should be sufficient to meet the needs of enterprises. Companies can freely allocate the HK$7 million funding limit to different application categories of the fund, including general applications, "Easy Application", or "e-Commerce Easy". Yau mentioned that additional optimization measures will be announced by the Hong Kong government in the 2025 Policy Address and the 2026-27 Budget. The government will continue to communicate closely with the industry and periodically review the operation of the "BUD Special Fund", taking into account its burden and financial sustainability, in order to provide appropriate support for small and medium enterprises.