'Commitment From Target Firms In Investment Fund'

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said a HK$30 billion Co-Investment Fund proposed in this year's Policy Address will require target companies to commit to job creation and capital investment, among other things.

"Those companies have to make commitment to us, as to say for example what kind of technology they are bringing to the table, what level of capital investment that they are going to make, how many jobs they will be able to create. These are just a few criteria or a few factors that we are going to look at," he said during a press briefing on Thursday.

Chan also said the government will consider a firm's "strategic importance" to Hong Kong when deciding whether to back it.

The financial secretary listed a number of sectors that the authorities will be targeting, including life science, renewable energy, new materials and advanced manufacturing.

"Instead of doing it from scratch ourselves, I think it is more effective for us to attract those leading companies to come to Hong Kong to set up their operations," he said.

He added that the government will be looking for investment return.