Hong Kong’s start-up scene has been on a tear lately, and it looks like it may get another boost sometime soon.
According to the SCMP, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po recently blogged that the Hong Kong government is considering additional incentives for angel investors.
Chan said that angel investors – who mainly operate outside the city – are “important to the ecosystem driving innovation and developing Hong Kong’s technology industry,” and that they should be encouraged to set up shop in the former colony:
“Angel investors can offer their capital and professional advice to help newly created start-ups grow. After a certain stage of development, these start-ups will then be able to attract other private equity or venture capital to invest in them, and later on they may go public and list,” Chan said.
“The Hong Kong government has been changing laws to make it easier for these companies to come to Hong Kong. The government will also consider offering more tax and other incentives to attract overseas angel investors to set up here,” Chan added, without giving more details.
Hong Kong’s plan – if it goes through – could be a major boon for the region’s burgeoning start-up arena. With more angel investors in the city, start-ups would have easier access to capital and expertise than they have had before.
At least one start-up founder is a fan of the plan: Simon Loong, founder and chief executive of Hong Kong unicorn WeLab, supported Chan’s idea, telling the SCMP that attracting more “quality angel investors and early-stage investors will definitely be beneficial to the Hong Kong start-up ecosystem.” Loong said that WeLab raised funds from seven angel investors when it was founded six years ago, and that “in addition to vital financial support, every one of them shared very useful advice and much-needed encouragement along the way on handling the immense challenges in scaling an early-stage venture.”
Photo: Mark Lehmkuhler