Update on the work of Create Hong Kong
Value added of Hong Kong’s creative industries
Referring to the value added of Hong Kong’s creative industries of $57 billion in 2015, Mr CHAN Chun-ying enquired about the breakdown of value added by the 11 cultural and creative sectors referred to in paragraph 2 of the Administration’s paper (LC Paper No. CB(4)372/16-17(03)). Mr CHAN said that the breakdown should show the proportion of value added contributed by different sectors and such information would assist the Administration in formulating proportional supportive measures for respective sectors.
PSCCI advised that the design, digital entertainment and architecture sectors of creative industries had recorded significant growth in value added in recent years. At the request of Mr CHAN Chun-ying, the Administration agreed to provide a breakdown of the value added of Hong Kong’s creative industries in 2015 by 11 cultural and creative sectors.
Support for the film sector
Referring to paragraph 5 of the Administration’s paper (LC Paper No. CB(4)372/16-17(03)), Mr CHAN Chun-ying enquired about performance indicators, such as box office receipts and awards received, for film projects supported by the Film Development Fund (“FDF”) as at end December 2016. PSCCI advised that box office receipts was only one of the performance indicators showing the results of the projects supported by FDF. FDF supported film productions for commercial release through the Film Production Financing Scheme (“FPFS”), the Film Production Grant Scheme (“FPGS”) and the First Feature Film Initiative (“FFFI”). Under FPFS, the Government’s contribution of financial support was up to a certain percentage of the approved budget or the actual production cost of small-to-medium film productions. FPGS was launched on a pilot basis for two years under FDF in November 2015 to provide subsidies to small-budget film productions with direct grant. FFFI was first launched in 2013 on a pilot basis as a talent nurturing initiative to groom new film directors by fully subsidizing the production of their first feature-length films for commercial release.
PSCCI added that the box office receipts of the 26 film production projects supported by FDF varied, and the Government’s funding support through CreateHK had continued to encourage more local film productions for commercial release. At the request of Mr CHAN Chun-ying, the Administration agreed to provide information regarding the performance indicators for assessing the effectiveness of the film-related projects supported by FDF, such as box office receipts, since the establishment of CreateHK in June 2009.
Update on the work of Cyberport in nurturing the Information and Communications Technology Ecosystem in Hong Kong
Discussion
Mr CHAN Chun-ying commended Cyberport in nurturing the ICT ecosystem in Hong Kong. He commented that he had received feedback that local universities placed too much emphasis on students’ ability on languages and mathematics when considering their admission, overlooking the importance of other science subjects. Mr CHAN suggested that a feedback mechanism should be developed so that Cyberport would channel to local tertiary institutions any opinion and ideas received related to the range of knowledge expected of local students in pursuing a career in technology, and these institutions could take them into consideration when developing their curricula. CEO/HKCMCL said that Cyberport had engaged local education institutions on training needs. He said that many local institutions had already launched programmes in FinTech and coding, which were popular among students.
Mr CHAN Chung-ying observed that only a few companies in Cyberport had been able to attract investment from major corporations. Mr CHAN suggested that Cyberport should organize sharing sessions regularly so that these companies could share the skills and experience in attracting investment with other start-ups. CEO/HKCMCL said that at present, more than 80 Cyberport start-up projects received funding from private investors. To assist its start-ups to attract investments from large corporations, Cyberport had organized training and experience sharing sessions, and assisted the start-ups to build up investment networks.