Speech by the Chief Executive Officer at Gobi-Redbird Innovation Fund Launch (English version only) (13 October 2025)
Edith, Thomas, Chibo, Dr. Kim, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon. It is my great pleasure to join you in witnessing the launch of the Gobi-Redbird Innovation Fund (“G-RIF”). Many congratulations, and a big thank you to everyone in making this happen!
The HKIC’s Investment and Partnership Approach
The G-RIF is a living example of what could be achieved if we bring together best-in-class and like-minded partners such as the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (“HKUST”) and Gobi Partners, with a view to joining force in doing good for Hong Kong. This partnership approach also aligns with the HKIC’s mandate. As the Patient Capital institution wholly owned by and representing the HKSAR Government, the HKIC adopts an “Investment+” approach, under which investment is a means not only to bring financial return, but also to create and support long-term growth drivers for Hong Kong, from which our economy and our people could all benefit.
Let me share some snapshots of where the HKIC stands today since our establishment in October 2022. For example:
We have invested in over 130 projects, of which two companies are already listed in Hong Kong with promising performance. In addition, more than 10 companies have either submitted or planned to submit their applications for listing in Hong Kong this year. Among these 10-ish names and before listing, 5 companies have already become unicorns; and
Out of our invested capital, more than 60% is in early and growth stage companies.
“PATH” to Success in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
In addition to investing, we have also analysed and learned from the actual case studies in our investment portfolio. To the extent possible, we hope to identify some common elements of success among our investee companies and partners, so that we could make the path to success easier for other innovators and entrepreneurs in our investment ecosystem. Our findings are simple, which are also embedded in the word “PATH”, namely “Patience”, “Action”, “Teamwork” and “Hong Kong”.
First let’s talk about “Patience”, which is a core element for innovation and entrepreneurship because the journey “From Zero to One” could be highly uncertain. As a Patient Capital institution, the HKIC’s patience is shown by the flexibility of our investment horizon, which means that we have the holding power and option in terms of our length of stay in a company after investment. We also have patience in handholding our companies and partners with a view to increasing their likelihood of success. For example, we may sit on the boards of our companies to offer support on their business developments and commercialisation, and we may invite them to participate in our events and delegations to open up new markets and supply chain opportunities for them. On the point about capital, we are already able to achieve a capital multiplier effect of 5, meaning that every Hong Kong dollar invested by the HKIC has attracted over five Hong Kong dollars from long-term capital in the market.
“Patience” must go with “Action” to do the magic. In addition to our investment work, we are taking proactive actions to channel overseas capital to promising talents and projects in Hong Kong. For example, we organised our inaugural International Forum for Patient Capital in May this year, bringing together more than 80 institutions from geographies taking up over 50% of the world’s GDP. These institutions collectively recorded more than US$20 trillion of AUM. In the event, we showcased our companies and partners including Gobi Partners and some of their investee companies, and attracted investment interest from around the world. When we next organise events like this, we look forward to featuring companies jointly groomed by the HKUST and Gobi Partners under the G-RIF.
Then “Teamwork”. The HKIC is a strong believer of “One Hong Kong Team”, where the HKUST, Gobi Partners, and all of you attending today are integral members. Let’s put together our collective wisdom and join force in investing for the future of Hong Kong.
And I save the best for the last - “Hong Kong”. We are very blessed to have Hong Kong as our home. The respective roles of Hong Kong as an international financial centre, international innovation and technology centre, and international hub for high-calibre talents mean that the confluence of 3 winning elements for innovation and entrepreneurship, namely capital, opportunities and talents, is already here. We assure you that as the HKIC looks around the world, the best is just around the corner here in Hong Kong. So there is definitely no excuse for us not to seize the moments and capture the opportunities.
Closing
To close and as we said, the “PATH” to success for innovation and entrepreneurship is crystal clear with elements like “Patience”, “Action”, “Teamwork” and “Hong Kong”. By that standard, we have all the stars aligned today - Great institutions like the HKUST and Gobi Partners with “Patience” to groom talents and companies are taking “Action” with a “Teamwork” approach to jointly launching the G-RIF in and for “Hong Kong”. With such a solid start, I am sure the G-RIF is going to do great. Please make us proud by creating amazing innovation and entrepreneurship stories, which we keenly look forward to hearing and featuring. Thank you once again for having me today.