The Hong Kong Government launched “Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales” (BUD Fund). The 2 programmes under the Fund namely “Mainland Programme” and “FTA Programme” grant at most HK$ 4,000,000 on a one-to-one matching basis. The BUD Fund aims at promoting the competitiveness of Hong Kong companies in the mainland China and 19 economies signed the Free Trade Agreement with Hong Kong. So, what should we know about the BUD Fund?
There is no restriction for a new company in the BUD application guideline. However, the Fund is not for start-ups and the BUD Office expects certain substantial business to justify the grant.
Daily expenditure, e.g. office rent, water and electricity fee, salary of existing staff etc. Moreover, sales commission and reward.
This is a common situation and we have a lot of inquiries. Unfortunately, it is not applicable for current BUD Fund. Please read The Blind Spot of BUD Fund
For type (i) project, the applicant should ballpark or quote the consultation fee. For type (ii) project, the applicant should prepare a holistic business plan. Whichever type, the applicant should provide a proof of substantive business, e.g. MPF record.
No. However, a professional BUD consultant can help to save cost and reduce risk. Read more: How to Choose a BUD consultant?
By the BUD application guideline, only 3 company structures are eligible to the BUD Fund. Please read more: The relation between Hong Kong applicant company & Local business
Though there is no such this restriction, the BUD Office may have concerns if the applicant company can implement both programmes simultaneously. Therefore it is not recommended to apply for more than one programme of the BUD Fund at the same time.
If the company cannot submit the required report on time, or the project progress falls behind the expectation so that the Government sees no chance of project completion, or the company breaches the subsidy agreement. All above cases may cause a suspension or termination to the funding.
More about BUD Fund Application