World Intellectual Property Organization: The "Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou" innovation cluster ranks first in the world again in 2026.

On September 8, the World Intellectual Property Organization released the list of the top 100 innovative clusters in the 2026 Global Innovation Index, with the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster ranking first in the world once again. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong SAR government stated that the ranking of innovative clusters released by the World Intellectual Property Organization once again affirms the outstanding innovation capabilities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) and the supportive financial ecosystem for innovation and technology (InnoTech), which is warmly welcomed. The Global Innovation Index cluster ranking identifies the concentration of world-class innovation activities locally through three core indicators: the volume of international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the number of scientific papers published, and the volume of venture capital transactions. In this year's ranking, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster had a density of 2,259 PCT patent applications per million people and a density of 4,060 scientific papers published per million people over the past five years; as for the density of venture capital transactions, it was 138 per million people. The Hong Kong government spokesperson stated that accelerating the development of innovation and technology is a key policy focus of the current government. The government has been committed to improving the innovation and technology ecosystem, which includes the continuous development of the original patent system and the introduction of a patent box mechanism to provide tax relief for intellectual property income to promote innovation; it also aims to deepen cooperation between Hong Kong and sister cities in the Greater Bay Area while optimizing the local innovation and technology development landscape, promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, to develop into an international innovation and technology center and contribute to the nations technological strength. The number of start-ups in Hong Kong has surged from over 1,500 in 2015 to more than 5,200 by 2025; the Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport, the two major flagship innovation and technology hubs, have witnessed the birth of about 20 unicorn companies so far. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong section of the Heung Yuen Wai-Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone (Heung Yuen Wai Hong Kong Park) officially opened in December 2025, with over 100 technology companies/institutions having signed leases and gradually moving in. With the strong partnership between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the Heung Yuen Wai Hong Kong Park will become an important platform for basic scientific research, results transformation, pilot production, and international innovation and technology cooperation in the Greater Bay Area, driving high-quality development. In June of this year, New Tin Science City Limited was officially established to fully promote the development of 210 hectares of innovation and technology land in New Tin Science City, forming an important link for the coordinated development of the upstream, midstream, and downstream with the Heung Yuen Wai Hong Kong Park. The private equity market in Hong Kong is booming, with assets under management close to $250 billion, ranking second in Asia, only after mainland China. The government has been enhancing venture capital financing as a key component of Hong Kongs innovation and commercialization ecosystem. The government has established a HK$10 billion Innovation and Technology Industry Guidance Fund, along with another HK$10 billion Industry-Academia-Research 1+ Plan and an Innovation and Technology Accelerator Pilot Scheme, aiming to strengthen full-chain financial support, from university research and seed-stage entrepreneurship to scale expansion, industrial application, and global market development.