Enhanced ties: Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Rita Lau chairs the Steering Group on Shenzhen-Hong Kong Co-operation in Innovation & Technology's third meeting in Shenzhen.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen have agreed on the action plan under the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle for the next three years, comprising 24 co-operation projects.

Under three categories, the projects are: innovation foundation (provision of laboratories or facilities), service platform (sharing of technological resources and provision of technological services platform), and major research and development projects (particularly technological areas, such as solar batteries).

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Rita Lau co-chaired the Steering Group on Shenzhen-Hong Kong Co-operation in Innovation & Technology's third meeting in Shenzhen today. She said the action plan covers the biomedical, integrated circuit, radio frequency identification technology, solar battery and industrial design fields.

"It underlines the extensive support for the development of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle from the R&D sectors of both places," she said.

Co-operating units comprise government departments, universities, R&D institutions and community organisations from both sides. Details on the projects' implementation will be confirmed by responsible institutions later.

Noting the Government attaches great importance to the development of the innovation circle, Mrs Lau said the two sides' collaboration is also in line with the direction to promote innovation and technology as set out in the Outline of the Plan for the Reform & Development of the Pearl River Delta.

"To assemble the resource advantages of the two sides and promote technological co-operation between the Mainland and other parts of the world, we will continue to join with Shenzhen to attract more overseas enterprises to conduct R&D projects in Hong Kong," Mrs Lau added.

Four projects were jointly funded in 2007 and there were eight in 2008. Total funding reached $73 million, covering electric vehicle technology, core technologies for batteries, RFID applications, rapid bioassay technologies as well as energy saving and environmental protection technologies.

The Dupont photovoltaic solar energy business headquarters and R&D centre in the Hong Kong Science Park is the first major project under the frame of the innovation circle. It is discussing further co-operation with the Nano and Advanced Materials Institution in Hong Kong.

Mrs Lau also visited three Hong Kong-funded high technology enterprises in Shenzhen to see their development in both R&D and production, the latest market situation and strategy in the face of the financial tsunami.