Hong Kong’s international financial centre role gives it an edge in AI market, experts say

“For AI companies, having easy access to capital is extremely important,” SenseTime chief financial officer Wang Zheng said in a panel discussion at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference 2025 on Tuesday. “Hong Kong has a really deep, world-class capital market.”

Founded in Hong Kong in 2014, SenseTime was able to raise “a lot of private capital” in the city to support its growth before eventually going public on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to Wang.

“Hong Kong is really fantastic in playing the role of a capital connector,” Wang said. “I think this is the one area that Shenzhen and Singapore would be very hard-pressed to surpass in the foreseeable future.”

That reflects efforts by Hong Kong’s government to reposition the city as a regional technology hub by 2035, while bolstering its role as a bridge between mainland China and the rest of the world.