Leonard Chan Tik-yuen, chairman of Hong Kong Innovative Technology Development Association, said the city could take advantage of China’s technological void caused by the US sanctions on Chinese tech firms such as chip manufacturing technology.
The US has banned Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co from doing business with key chip suppliers such as Qualcomm and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, unless it obtains a licence from the US Commerce Department.
China still lags behind the US and Taiwan in advanced semiconductor technologies, including chip design and manufacturing, despite recent efforts to achieve self-reliance in chips.
“Hong Kong should focus on some high value-added technologies such as chip making and biotechnology and avoid those which require a lot of land for R&D,” he said. “Since Huawei is China’s largest chip designer, Hong Kong can attract its talent to the city and fill this chip-making void in China.”