The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government stated that the innovation cluster ranking announced by WIPO reflects the high international recognition of the Greater Bay Area’s innovation capabilities, and the HKSAR Government warmly welcomes this. This year, the ranking newly included venture capital deal volume as an evaluation indicator. As an international financial center, Hong Kong, together with mainland China and Hong Kong-managed venture capital and private equity funds, ranks first and second in Asia respectively. The “Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou” cluster has excelled and been widely recognized in guiding capital to support the conversion of innovative ideas into tangible outcomes.

The HKSAR Government stated that developing innovation and technology is a key policy priority. In recent years, the HKSAR Government has introduced a series of policy measures to strengthen the mutual promotion of technology, capital, and talent, accelerate cooperation and synergy with neighboring cities in the Greater Bay Area, and fully promote Hong Kong’s development as an international innovation and technology hub. Among them, the current administration has announced three programs, each involving HKD 10 billion: the Industry–Academia–Research 1+ Program, the New Industrial Acceleration Program, and the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund, and has also launched the Innovation and Technology Accelerator Pilot Program. In addition, Hong Kong actively supports the growth of start-ups and strives to attract leading global enterprises and talents in frontier technologies to settle in Hong Kong, enriching the local innovation and technology ecosystem. As Asia’s leading international financial center, Hong Kong has in recent years expanded financing and listing channels to meet the needs of new economy and technology companies, facilitating more high-quality enterprises to raise funds and expand business in Hong Kong; it has also developed “patient capital” through the establishment of Hong Kong Investment Management Limited, guiding market funds to invest small, invest early, invest long-term, and invest in hard technology.

Looking ahead, Hong Kong will continue to closely cooperate with neighboring cities in the Greater Bay Area to further promote innovation and technology in the region, making new and greater contributions to the country’s construction as a technological power and to human progress.

The GII cluster ranking was established in 2017 and identifies the concentration of world-class innovation activities locally through three core indicators: the number of international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the number of scientific publications, and this year, the newly added venture capital deal volume. In previous GII cluster rankings, the “Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou” cluster held the global second position for five consecutive years.

In this year’s ranking, the “Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou” cluster ranks first. Over the past five years, the patent application density was 2,292 per million people, and the scientific publication density was 3,775 per million people; the density of venture capital deals was 135 per million people.

The release event for the 2025 Global Innovation Index World Top 100 Innovation Clusters was held on September 1 at Hong Kong Science Park. The event was organized by the national authorities and WIPO, and hosted by the HKSAR Government. The release event also invited leading figures and representatives from Hong Kong and overseas to attend two roundtable discussions, exchanging insights on the innovation advantages and future potential of the Greater Bay Area, as well as the latest innovation developments in other international clusters. Simultaneously, exhibitions showcasing innovation achievements from Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou were set up outside the venue.

The world’s top 100 innovation clusters are distributed across 33 economies. The countries with the most clusters include China (24), the United States (22), and Germany (7).