Hong Kong’s fintech hub Cyberport has added 66,000 square metres of space in its fifth-phase expansion and filled half of its offices with tenants including mainland Chinese tech companies, according to its chairman. Simon Chan Sai-ming also said on Saturday that Cyberport was positioning itself as a key driver in Hong Kong’s inaugural five-year plan by pushing artificial intelligence (AI) development as a pillar industry, expanding talent training and improving cross-border data governance. He said the fifth-phase project, which was allocated HK$5.5 billion (US$700.9 million) in the 2019 policy address, was completed in June this year. It sits on a 1.6-hectare waterfront plot in Cyberport’s headquarters in Pok Fu Lam and comprises a 10-storey tower with 66,000 square metres of gross floor area. Of that, about half of the new space – or 36,000 square metres – is dedicated to offices and co-working space, while 8,600 square metres houses a Tier-III+ data centre supporting the hub’s AI supercomputing facilities. Major tenants such as Lenovo and brain-computer interface firm BrainCo, a member of Hangzhou’s “Six Little Dragons” tech cluster, have already moved in, with office leasing more than half filled. Chan said the hub had also reserved “smart space” for early-stage ventures that might only need a desk rather than a full office suite. “Whether it is a mature company or a promising start-up, as long as it helps Hong Kong’s innovation and technology industry grow, we warmly welcome it,” he said. The government’s public consultation on Hong Kong’s first five-year plan drew to a close on Friday, with the final document expected in the third quarter. Chan said firms in the hub had called for clearer rules on cross-border data flows and stronger talent pipelines. “Unlike overseas markets, Hong Kong’s innovation scene is largely government-led,” he said. “We hope to bring more private capital and enterprises into the fold.” He stressed that building AI into a pillar industry hinged on talent cultivation, technology and funding. Chan said Cyberport would work alongside the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in Hetao and the Sandy Ridge Data Centre Park to make the city an international innovation centre, while staking out its own ground in digital technology and AI. While Sandy Ridge’s planned 180,000-petaflop data centre would serve the same AI industry from 2029, Chan said its operator would define its own market. He described the broader ecosystem as an axis running “south, central, north,” with Cyberport in the south, Pak Shek Kok’s Science Park in the centre and Hetao in the North. “The innovation and technology sector is like a big company, with different branches and units doing different things,” he said. “Healthy competition will improve our operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.” To keep smaller firms in the game, Cyberport offers subsidised computing power to small and medium-sized enterprises for as little as HK$1,800 a month. “We are positioning ourselves as an AI accelerator,” he said. “Our 23-year history has built a strong network that takes time to build up.” To promote AI literacy as part of Hong Kong’s education drive across all walks of life, Cyberport launched its “AI for All” initiative in June, backed by HK$50 million in government funding. The programme will teach students, parents, the elderly and underprivileged groups the basics of artificial intelligence through online courses and workshops, with a goal to reach 50,000 people over two years.