By Lam Ka-Sing

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Hong Kong has jumped three spots to No 15 in the Global Innovation Index on the back of its strengths in financing credit, tertiary education and knowledge absorption.
Released on Tuesday, the latest edition of the annual World Intellectual Property Organization study of almost 140 economies placed Hong Kong fifth in Asia, with the city’s total research and development expenditure and number of research personnel continuing to rise.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the ranking showed the strategy of promoting a dual approach to finance and innovation and technology was the correct direction.
“This ranking shows that our development strategy of promoting finance and innovation and technology to facilitate each other is the correct direction,” Chan said on social media.
“By making good use of Hong Kong’s advantages in the entire chain of financing functions, coupled with the Hong Kong Investment Corporation as patient capital, we can better guide and leverage market forces to accelerate the development and breakthroughs of innovation and technology.”

The Global Innovation Index, published by the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization, in partnership with the Portulans Institute, calls itself a benchmark resource for policymakers and business leaders.
The 18th edition of the report used about 80 indicators to evaluate the innovation performance of nearly 140 world economies.
Hong Kong showed strong performance across several sub-indicators. It ranked first globally for credit, while placing third in higher education and fifth in knowledge absorption. In information and communications technology, it ranked sixth. Hong Kong also broke into the top 10 for investment and institutional environment, both ranking ninth.
Globally, Switzerland retained its top ranking, followed by Sweden in second and the United States in third place. China rose one spot and entered the top 10 for the first time at number 10, while Singapore slipped one spot to fifth.
The organisation’s director general, Daren Tang, said: “The Global Innovation Index 2025 maps the contours of innovation across the world, showing us that the fastest-advancing economies in the Global Innovation Index are those that view innovation as a fundamental engine of resilience, growth and competitiveness.”