Hong Kong Government plans major spend on IP services in move to create ‘regional IP trading centre’

Photo by Cheung Yin on Unsplash

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HK SAR) has just announced its 2026 budget, which includes provisions for a range of steps aimed at “fulfilling its role as a regional intellectual property (IP) trading centre.”

The announcements expand on earlier commitments to making IP more central in business and finance in September 2025’s annual policy review of Hong Kong government plans, delivered by John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. At that time, he said the SAR would “push forward measures in IP financing, valuation and protection, and strengthen external promotion to boost IP trading.”

These proposals included the launch of an IP financing sandbox to assist pilot sectors (particularly the technology sector) in leveraging IPs for financing with the support of the banking, insurance, valuation, legal and other professions.

Now, in last week’s 2026 Budget speech, HK SAR’s financial secretary, Paul Chan, said that HK$52m had been earmarked to create an IP Academy (IPA) to boost the SAR’s IP sector. By the end of 2026, a two-year pilot programme will be launched to support the IPA in providing on-the-job training linked to the Qualifications Framework.

Chan added: “Hong Kong is actively fulfilling its role as a regional intellectual property (IP) trading centre. We will refine the associated tax regime and institutional framework, nurture talents, leverage our strengths in professional services, with a view to boosting economic development through driving IP trading and financing.”

An additional HK$28m will support the Hong Kong Technology and Innovation Support Centre in providing I&T enterprises with patent evaluation based on Chinese national standards (known as Guobiao or GB), and implementing a two-year Pilot Patent Valuation Support Scheme to assist I&T enterprises in conducting valuation of their patent assets.

Central to the plans to raise the SAR’s profile as an IP Hub is the setting up last year of the Hong Kong Technology and Innovation Support Centre (HKTISC) as a joint effort between the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). WIPO launched the TISC program in 2009, and has been partnering with different countries around the world to establish regional TISCs which can help researchers, inventors, and entrepreneurs unlock their innovative potential and protect, manage, and create value with their IP.

Other developments include a commitment for the SAR’s Intellectual Property Department (IPD) to expand its team of patent examiners, and the announcement of a formal consultation to get the views of business and finance firms on reducing the costs of buying or licensing IP rights via tax deductions.

An article in the South China Morning Post observes that “Currently, the IP industry accounts for about 30% of Hong Kong’s gross domestic product and jobs.”

The SCMP article adds: “Observers earlier told the SCMP that there was a bottleneck in the city’s emerging IP industry. They cited an example in which Pop Mart, a toymaker from mainland China, decided to go public in Hong Kong but registered its overseas IP in Singapore.”