Hong Kong Science Park, operated by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp (HKSTP), on Thursday opened its first Chinese mainland branch in the Hetao Sci-tech Zone in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

The opening of the branch located at the Shenzhen Park of the zone was on Thursday — over a week after the State Council, the nation's Cabinet, unveiled the development plan for the Shenzhen part of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone in late August.

The Shenzhen Park on the same day inked pacts with 40 research institutions that will begin businesses, or have such intentions, such as Peking University, the China Resources Research Institute of Science and Technology, and ASC Therapeutics — a United States-based pharmaceutical company.

At the signing ceremony, Guo Ziping, director of the development and reform commission of Shenzhen, said with support from the Shenzhen government, Shenzhen Park will continue to enhance scientific research services, promote the sharing of scientific research facilities and instruments and build high-quality facilities to improve the living environment for talents from home and abroad.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said via video link during the opening ceremony that the completion of the Shenzhen branch represents a milestone not only in HKSTP's history but also in the process of science and innovation cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

The Shenzhen branch, as a core project of the Hetao Sci-tech Zone's Shenzhen section, will become a flagship innovation and technology platform to showcase Hong Kong's sci-tech achievements on Shenzhen soil, Lee said.

Also at the event, Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong highlighted Shenzhen and Hong Kong's advantage in jointly building a world-class innovation hub, pointing to the fact that the "Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou" cluster ranked 2nd in the Global Innovation Index issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization for three consecutive years.

He said the Shenzhen government will continue to carry out in-depth cooperation with Hong Kong in areas such as information technology, life sciences, artificial intelligence and microelectronics, and support Hong Kong in developing the Northern Metropolis, a mega-township project in the northern New Territories bordering Shenzhen.

HKSTP Chairman Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu thanked the central government and the Hong Kong SAR government for supporting the Shenzhen branch's construction, which was completed in just over a year. He said HKSTP will use the Shenzhen branch as a base and extend its collaboration network to every corner of the Greater Bay Area.

Peter Mok Wai-hin, head of the Greater Bay Area of the HKSTP Corp, said that most of the 16 enterprises that have entered the Shenzhen branch are from Hong Kong, estimating that about 30 to 40 companies will move into the branch in the coming three to four months, with the number increasing to about 50 by the end of this year.

Companies operating at the Shenzhen branch will also enjoy entrepreneurship subsidies offered by the Shenzhen government, as well as rent discounts and tax reductions, Mok said.