Hong Kong offers strong regulatory support for foreign companies seeking to establish their operations in the city, some investors said. Its role as a connector between mainland China and the global markets is also burnishing its appeal as a hub for medical technology firms.
That is the case for Time Medical, a Hong Kong-based medical imaging company spun off from Columbia University, its chief operating officer Simon Yeung said. The company faced a regulatory approval process as long as five years for its magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine for babies in the US, but performing preparatory work in Hong Kong helped reduced the process to just a few months, he added.
That is a credit to InvestHK, a government agency tasked with attracting foreign investment to the financial hub, which helped Yeung and his team to get their business up and running.
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“We had a very good talk to InvestHK so that we knew what to do beforehand,” Yeung said. “The groundwork was done in Hong Kong, including all the testing and the clinical trials” which sped up the vetting process, he added.
Time Medical is seeking to install its MRI machines in local hospitals, says chief operating officer Simon Yeung. Photo: Handout alt=Time Medical is seeking to install its MRI machines in local hospitals, says chief operating officer Simon Yeung. Photo: Handout>
Time Medical is one of the nine medical technology companies that InvestHK assisted in setting up or expanding their businesses in Hong Kong this year. The firms appreciate Hong Kong for its connection, including initiatives in the Greater Bay Area that open doors to the medical technology market in mainland China.
Introduced in 2020, the “medical connect” scheme allows Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical devices to be used in eligible medical institutions within the bay area. However, they must first meet the “clinically-urgent” criteria and already be in use in Hong Kong public hospitals.
Thanks in part to the scheme, Time Medical is in talks with two local public hospitals to install its MRI systems, which would clear the way for their use in mainland China, Yeung said. Manufacturing for the company’s neonatal MRI system, which is its biggest segment with pre-orders from across the world, has begun at its facility in Tai Po InnoPark.
So far, the nine med-tech companies have invested a combined HK$60 million (US$7.7 million) in setting up shops in the city, and created some 120 jobs, according to InvestHK’s head of innovation and technology Andy Wong.
A wide network of universities, hospitals and research centres, plus various collaboration and funding schemes, are available to investors, he added.
Hong Kong’s role as a gateway to the Asia-Pacific market is a bonus, said Dilip Parmanand, CEO of Koning HK, a unit of US computed tomography or CAT scan maker Koning Health. His firm is looking to introduce its breast imaging device to other markets such as Thailand and Malaysia.
“Hong Kong is regarded as a strictly-regulated city for businesses in finance, tech and medicine,” Parmanand said. A medical device in use in Hong Kong will reassure other markets in the region about its safety and quality, he added.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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