Driving Industrial Innovation through Technologies and Aligning with National 15^th Five-Year Plan

HONG KONG, Feb. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) welcomes today's 2026-27 Budget announced by the Financial Secretary and fully supports the Government's enhanced promotion of artificial intelligence (AI), life and health, new industrialisation, green and construction technologies, which are ASTRI's core research and development (R&D) areas. ASTRI pledges to work closely with the HKSAR Government in proactively aligning with the National 15^th Five-Year Plan, leveraging market forces to accelerate technology-industry integration and advance national development, whilst contributing to Hong Kong's development as an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre.

Invest for the Future with Expanded R&D Scopes
This year marks the beginning year of the National 15^th Five-Year Plan, which provides enormous opportunities for the Hong Kong's I&T development, said Ir Prof Sunny Lee, Board Chairman of ASTRI. He is pleased to see more resources allocated on I&T growth and talent cultivation, Northern Metropolis development and attraction of global investments to Hong Kong, accelerating the real-world application of research outcomes, whilst injecting fresh impetus into the progress of "New Quality Productive Forces", propelling high-quality economic growth.

"ASTRI will merge with Nano and Advanced Materials Institute (NAMI) in April and will expand our R&D scopes to include advanced materials, new energy and green technologies – which align with the national and the HKSAR Government's key development priorities. We will also leverage our strengths in technology and commercialisation to foster collaboration across the technology supply chain, expediting the journey from lab to market. This will deliver more practical solutions across industries, enhancing overall competitiveness whilst driving Hong Kong's economic growth," Ir Prof Sunny Lee added.

Global Expansion through Dual Connectivity
The Budget also outlined various measures to attract investment and talent, and strengthened support for Chinese Mainland enterprises to 'go global', capitalising on Hong Kong's unique advantage as a 'super-connector' between Chinese Mainland and the world.  It also refines tax regime and institutional framework to boost economic growth through driving intellectual property (IP) trading and financing.

Ir Dr Ted Suen, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI, welcomed the Budget's comprehensive support for I&T development, covering infrastructure investment, emerging technology advancement, talent development, and promotion of wider I&T adoption across industries for enhancing competitiveness. He added that ASTRI has extensive experience in technological research and development, international standards alignment, and testing and validation, enabling provision of comprehensive technical support for these enterprises, particularly IP collaboration.

"Technology patents are the key drivers of technology transfer and industrial upgrading. To date, we have secured 1,200 patents and successfully transferred 1,600 technologies to industry." he said.

In addition, ASTRI has been collaborating with enterprises in the Greater Bay Area through its Shenzhen Office, providing more opportunities for technological testing and application. ASTRI has also established technology transfer and comercialisation centres in Beijing and Suzhou, with a view to promoting homegrown technologies to Chinese mainland and overseas markets through technological innovation and industrial collaboration.

He pointed out that with the post-merger combined strengths and synergies, ASTRI will become bigger and stronger, whilst continuing to develop technologies and innovative applications that support smart city development and drive industrial innovation. These include AI+ solutions for various sectors; smart communications essential for the low-altitude economy and autonomous driving; and advanced chips, IoT sensing and system controls technologies for smart factories and robotics.

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About ASTRI
Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) was founded by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2000 with the mission of enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness through applied research. ASTRI's core R&D competence in various areas is grouped under five Technology Divisions: Advanced Electronic Components and Systems; Artificial Intelligence and Trust Technologies; Communications Technologies; IoT Sensing and AI Technologies, and Intelligent Perception and Control Technologies. It is applied across six core areas which are Smart City, Financial Technologies, New Industrialisation and Intelligent Manufacturing, Digital Health, Application Specific Integrated Circuits and Metaverse.

Over the years, ASTRI has nurtured a pool of research, I&T talents and received numerous international awards for its pioneering innovations as well as outstanding business and community contributions. ASTRI has transferred about 1,600 technologies to the industry and has been granted close to 1,200 patents in the Chinese Mainland, the United States, and other countries. For further information, please visit www.astri.org.