The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government welcomed the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) ranking of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster as second globally for the fifth consecutive year.

It said that the WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2024 top 100 science and technology (S&T) clusters, published today, continues to give high recognition to the Greater Bay Area's (GBA) leading position in the global innovation and technology (I&T) field.

WIPO examines the density of patent-filing and articles published in scientific research journals to identify and rank the leading geographical areas in global S&T invention and innovation activities.

For the ranking this year, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster filed 2,303 Patent Cooperation Treaty applications per one million inhabitants during 2019-2023, and published 3,469 scientific articles per one million inhabitants during 2018-2022, both increasing from the previous cycles.

Apart from emphasising that the GBA international I&T centre plays an important strategic role in the national S&T innovation system, the Hong Kong SAR Government emphasised that the city will continue to actively promote I&T development by strengthening basic research capabilities and enhancing the local I&T ecosystem.

Furthermore, it noted that Hong Kong will accelerate the transformation and commercialisation of research and development outcomes, and promote new industrialisation to accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces in accordance with local strengths.

Meanwhile, the city will also strive to leverage its own advantages and strengthen I&T collaboration with GBA sister cities.

The ultimate aim is to jointly build a more comprehensive and globally competitive I&T industry chain, and make new and greater contributions to the country’s high-level self-reliance in science and technology, the Hong Kong SAR Government added.