The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) released the latest figures of “Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales” (BUD Fund) in a press release. Due to the US-China conflict, the Chief Innovation Officer Dr Lawrence Cheung reflected that a lot of manufacturers moved their factories from mainland China to Southeast Asia (ASEAN members) and some businesses spread the risk by expanding in mainland and ASEAN countries. (As early as May this year, BizMagnet BUD Consultant analyzed once the news of national security law released, that reminded our readers to better manage the risk. The article is here: Uncertain Future, and how BUD Fund can help. BizMagnet furthered that after the election postponement business would be very tough. We should go ahead with government funding. The figures show that our consultant is correct.)
More BUD Fund application
Dr Cheung mentioned that the application number of the BUD Fund in the first half of 2020 increases 84% per annum. More than 410 applications are successful with grant more than $260,000,000.1 Though the international flow interruption under the pandemic interfered the new market expansion of many businesses, we can also see many have their plans during the darkness. Hong Kong changes structurally and we must change. The BUD Fund subsidy ratio is 1:1. That means the government will grant the 50% of the cost of market expansion in mainland China, ASEAN and other Free Trade Agreement regions. The maximum grant for each application is $1 million, and the cumulative total grant is $4 million. It can much reduce cashflow risk for enterprises.
Words of business: Hong Kong is no longer a business-friendly place
SME Reachout
In order to promote and assist SMEs to know more about government grant, the HKPC established “SME Reachout” in Jan 2020. Popular items include BUD Fund, Technology Voucher Programme (TVP), Export Marketing Fund (EMF) etc. The cumulative maximum subsidy of them are $4,000,000, $600,000 and $800,000 respectively. The SME Reachout team has 6 members to help checking document for applicants. 2 The team has reached around 20,000 persons between Jan to Aug 2020, and they will have outing soon once the epidemic relieved.3
BUD application tips: Prepare quotations for BUD Fund application
Consultant can help your fund application
All BUD Fund Mainland Programme, FTA Programme (formerly know as ASEAN Programme), TVP and EMF are the scope of BizMagnet government fund consultancy service. We estimate that the weak government can rely on subsidy and the demand of fund is strong. Time is money, instead of studying the application guide, you should consider to hire a consultant to help. Understand the application eligibility, submit the application fast and catch the market opportunity. BizMagnet emphasizes integrity and helps you to apply for the BUD, TVP, EMF and so on in the best way.
BUD successful stories: Metal transform, Jewellery story, Shoe brand
- (Chinese only)【支援中小企】 中小企分散中美市場風險 生產力局：BUD專項基金申請上半年按年升84%, 香港經濟日報, https://inews.hket.com/article/2758743/
- (Chinese only)生產力局延中小企優惠至明年3月 ,信報財經新聞 , http://startupbeat.hkej.com/?p=92795
- (Chinese only) 生產力局教路填表 中小企3月領資助, https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%E6%B8%AF%E8%81%9E/article/20200922/s00002/1600712674006/
