The Hong Kong government announced the 2026 to 2027 Financial Budget, with no mention of virtual assets.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan delivered the government’s “Financial Budget for the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year” at the Legislative Council. The budget theme is “Innovation-driven, Financial empowerment; Diversified development, Caring for the people,” emphasizing that Hong Kong will serve the real economy through the “Financial +” model under the national “14th Five-Year Plan,” accelerating the mutual empowerment of finance and innovation technology. The budget mentions Hong Kong’s unique advantages in AI, life and health sciences, fintech, new materials, and new energy sectors, with related content on AI and computing power as follows:

Artificial Intelligence + We are accelerating the industrialization of AI and promoting deep integration of AI with various industries, while also encouraging widespread AI application to achieve universal usage and benefit. AI+ and the Industry Development Strategy Committee: Given the rapid industry innovation driven by AI applications, with new technologies, industries, and products emerging swiftly, I will establish and chair the “AI+ and Industry Development Strategy Committee” to set strategies for AI-driven industry transformation and development, create favorable conditions, and invite experts, scholars, enterprises, and park companies to participate. The initial focus will be on life and health sciences and embodied intelligence.

AI Empowering Industries: At the foundational R&D level, the InnoHK Hong Kong Innovation R&D Platform has funded 16 labs focused on AI and robotics, with research areas including AI-driven robotic technology applicable in healthcare, logistics, smart manufacturing, and construction. The government has launched a HKD 3 billion “Artificial Intelligence Funding Scheme,” approving nearly 30 research projects in fields such as large language models, new materials, and biomedicine, strengthening local AI research and application. We are actively aligning with the national “AI+” initiative, driven by application scenarios to promote “AI industrialization and AI in industries.” The Hong Kong AI Research Institute will commence operations in the second half of the year to support AI project R&D and results commercialization, and will provide opinions on governance frameworks and regulatory systems for AI development.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Cyberport have recently conducted the second phase of sandbox testing, focusing on exploring “AI against AI” to promote safer and more responsible AI use in banking. The overall computing power infrastructure in Hong Kong has reached 50 trillion floating-point operations per second, serving as a crucial foundation for AI development. The Sha Ling Data Park will further enhance overall computing capacity, offering 250,000 square meters of floor space, with tender results to be announced shortly. The park will provide vital support for data and computing power needed for AI applications.

Embodied Intelligence AI: Moving from large language models to embodied intelligence interacting with the physical world, technological and application innovations across different platforms (such as robots) will continuously transform, bringing fundamental changes to production processes, business operations, and daily life. Currently, various tech parks and Hong Kong investment companies support startups in embodied intelligence. The government will actively promote the construction of an embodied intelligence ecosystem and product applications.

Quantum Technology: Quantum tech can significantly enhance computing power, communication security, and sensing accuracy, leading to many new applications. Universities are conducting multiple studies through platforms like InnoHK, including developing AI-quantum simulation platforms and advancing the integration of AI with quantum computing. Hong Kong has also established two national key laboratories related to quantum technology. The government will actively promote basic research and industrial applications in this field.