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Hong Kong, 25 April 2018 – HKSTP and Wheelock Properties (Hong Kong) Limited (WPL) today announced the grand opening of HKSTP @Wheelock Gallery, a 6,000 square feet space located in the heart of the financial district in Admiralty. This launch signifies the collaboration between HKSTP and WPL to add to the vibrancy of the innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem, vital for the future growth of Hong Kong’s new economy.

The venue’s objective is to stimulate stronger investment activities in Hong Kong’s I&T sector. Fully sponsored by WPL throughout 2018, added with HKSTP’s capabilities in Smart Living, Smart Health, PropTech, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), Fintech and construction technology, the collaboration will expand the support for technology innovators inside and outside Science Park.

All technopreneurs will now have an effective platform to grow and thrive through connecting with investors, business leaders and representatives from other industry sectors. The Gallery will promote an exchange of ideas and knowledge transfer on customer and market needs. HKSTP will bring the huge resources of the I&T community – successful companies and professionals as mentors and provide advice, guidance and share experiences for the technology start-ups. At present, there are more than 150 mentors who provide voluntary support services to technology companies at Science Park.

HKSTP and WPL also hope that the Gallery will further encourage other successful technopreneurs and industry leaders to “pay it forward”, where through networking activities and industry exchanges, the leaders and technopreneurs can share their personal experiences and path-to-success stories with early-stage start-ups.

Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said, “There is growing momentum in our I&T sector and we are seeing increasing investment support for technology start-ups in Hong Kong. With the Government leading the way to drive the progress of I&T ecosystem, we are glad to see many stakeholders stepping up their participation and commitment to the I&T sector, including Wheelock Properties (Hong Kong) Limited. The support is essential for our I&T sector to be vibrant and may today’s announcement lead to even more stakeholders to come forward and join the community. Investment is crucial for every technology start-up and HKSTP has been directly involved in raising HKD 1.2 billion for Science Park companies in the past fiscal year, ending March 2018.”

Ricky Wong, Managing Director, Wheelock Properties (Hong Kong) Limited said, “Wheelock is pleased to partner with HKSTP to expand our support for technology innovators and start-ups by leveraging the company’s primely-located Wheelock Gallery and business expertise. The initiative echoes well with our corporate innovation culture and CSR approach “Business-in-Community”. It creates a platform to connect technology and industry, while bringing synergy to our own digitization journey for accommodating customer needs and operational efficiency. We are thrilled to see how this partnership stimulate new ideas and unlock potential for every participant.”

Accelerate Venture Investment Community in Hong Kong
At the event, HKSTP also announced the ‘Venture Investment Connect’ (VIC), a new investment acceleration programme that provides intensive fundraising support for high potential start-ups and enterprises. Within each six-month cohort programme, the identified technology companies will receive one-on-one customised consultation on business planning and strategy development from HKSTP’s experienced personnel, as well as one-on-one investment matching. They will be put on a fast-track to join HKSTP’s professional clinic and matching to a Venture Capital mentor. They will also get the opportunity to participate in HKSTP’s Mainland or overseas roadshows to connect with potential investors and partners.

“The collaboration with Wheelock Properties (Hong Kong) Limited and the launch of the VIC programme is an expanded initiative of what HKSTP has been doing all along to help technology start-ups gain financial support. With the Gallery space and HKSTP’s strong investor network, we are confident that technology companies will explore more potential partnership with investors and industry leaders.

We hope the new initiatives we made today will bring larger, positive, long-term impact for Hong Kong. When our innovators become successful, it can only attract even more stakeholders to come to Hong Kong. We will continue to play the super-connector and link our I&T ecosystem with that of the Mainland and other overseas locations,” concluded Albert.

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About Wheelock Properties
Wheelock Properties is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wheelock and Company Limited (SEHK:0020). Its principal activities include the undertaking of property development, sales and marketing, and asset management functions of certain Wheelock and Wharf Group properties. Wheelock Properties is committed to fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities and is keen in various community services, such as education program (Project WeCan), environment protection, arts & culture as well as community engagement projects.

Founded in 1857, Wheelock and Company Limited is a listed investment holding company headquartered in Hong Kong. Wharf Holdings, the Group's principal investment, is strategically focused on property and infrastructure in Hong Kong and China. About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation Comprising Science Park, InnoCentre and Industrial Estates, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is a statutory body dedicated to building a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem to connect stakeholders, nurture technology talents, facilitate collaboration, and catalyse innovations to deliver social and economic benefits to Hong Kong and the region.

About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Comprising Science Park, InnoCentre and Industrial Estates, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is a statutory body dedicated to building a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem to connect stakeholders, nurture technology talents, facilitate collaboration, and catalyse innovations to deliver social and economic benefits to Hong Kong and the region.

Established in May 2001, HKSTP has been driving the development of Hong Kong into a regional hub for innovation and growth in several focused clusters including Electronics, Information & Communications Technology, Green Technology, Biomedical Technology, Materials and Precision Engineering. We enable science and technology companies to nurture ideas, innovate and grow, supported by our R&D facilities, infrastructure, and market-led laboratories and technical centres with professional support services. We also offer value added services and comprehensive incubation programmes for technology start-ups to accelerate their growth.

Technology businesses benefit from our specialised services and infrastructure at Science Park for applied research and product development; enterprises can find creative design support at InnoCentre; while skill-intensive businesses are served by our three industrial estates at Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long. More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.