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Bright Hong Kong (5)

Bright Hong Kong

Japanese venture companies, don't dawdle or you'll be left behind by the world!

Hello. I'm Mike, a lawyer living in Hong Kong.

Science Park again.

We' ve talked before about the system we have here, which is open to and supports start-ups from all over the world, not just Hong Kong and China.

I introduced this system to some Japanese venture companies I know, but they are still in the R&D stage.

I thought it would be difficult, but I was surprised to find it so close to home.

Dr. H is a fellow Japanese lawyer living in Hong Kong, so we have dinner and BBQ at home party. He is about two years younger than me, but before I knew it, he had quit his job at a law firm in Hong Kong to set up a Hong Kong subsidiary of a venture company. Even so, he applied for the support program of the Science Park, and after the screening process, he finally set up an office in the Park. Fantastic!

The company is a venture from the Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer at Tohoku University and is developing a dementia prevention programme. The company is called

CogSmart Inc.

By the way, this institute is headed by Professor Kawashima, the developer of Nintendo's "Brain Training" which caused a huge boom in the 2000s, and he donated all of the large amount of supervision fees he earned from "Brain Training" to the institute. Wonderful!

THE OTHER DAY AT THE SCIENCE PARK, DR. H. TOLD ME A LOT ABOUT IT.

CogSmart was looking to expand overseas in the first place, and when they heard about the Science Park system, they decided to set up a subsidiary in Hong Kong to apply. The application process started with a document review, and the final stage was a presentation to the review committee. The final stage was a presentation to the judging committee, which was made up of a number of experts, to explain the business potential of the new technology in front of the committee members. He had to prepare dozens of pages of Word and Powerpoint documents for each presentation. The application was successful and the office was opened. It took about six months from application to approval.

He said that many people helped him in the screening process. JETRO is one of them. He thanked JETRO for the support they gave him in setting up the Science Park. There is an interview with JETRO on their website. The following is an excerpt.

The Hong Kong government is very supportive. Each company is assigned a mentor and can get advice from them. We have offices in the park, and by moving in we can connect with people from all walks of life. They can introduce you not only to people in the fields related to our business, but also to finance and tax experts who can help you run your company. Hong Kong is... a global business hub that also provides industrialisation support to overseas companies for social implementation and business development in the Bay Area.

The grant is for a period of four years, and provides up to HK$6 million (about ¥84 million, or about ¥14 per HK$) for R&D-related expenses, as well as access to offices in the Science Park at a reasonable cost (free for the first year, half price for the second and subsequent years). The grant does not have to be repaid, and Hong Kong is not asking for any IP rights or shares. All that is required is that the project is commercialised as planned, and that it becomes a core part of the future promotion of new industries to give back to Hong Kong society.

The Science Park provides generous support not only for ventures, but also for the R&D departments of existing companies. Roth also took advantage of this by setting up a basic research laboratory last year.

BY LEVERAGING THE SCIENCE PARK AND TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE CAPABILITIES OF HONG KONG AND SHENZHEN, GBA WILL BECOME ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING EMERGING INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS IN 20 YEARS TIME, MAYBE EVEN SOONER. ADD TO THAT HONG KONG'S ROLE AS AN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE, AND YOU HAVE THE MAKINGS OF AN EXTRAORDINARY REGION, A BIT LIKE SILICON VALLEY MEETS NEW YORK.

There are a lot of professionals in Hong Kong, including JETRO, who are willing to help start-up companies in Hong Kong. Of course, Dr. H and I are also willing to help. In addition, Mr. Taketo Hara, the founder of Defta Partners, is a special advisor to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Science Park, which is very encouraging.

If you are a Japanese venture capitalist, let's set up an office in Hong Kong. We'll be waiting for you.

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