Innovation and Technology Industry-Oriented Fund (ITIF)

Selection of Fund Managers

The Innovation and Technology Industry-Oriented Fund (ITIF) invites application as fund managers. The application deadline is 16 January 2026 (Hong Kong time).

Selection and Engagement Arrangements

• The Government will select eligible professional fund managers through open selection exercise in two stages.
• In stage one, the applicants which meet the eligibility requirements will be shortlisted based on the selection criteria.
• In stage two, the shortlisted applicants will be informed of the list of strategic investors. They will be responsible for setting up the proposed sub-funds (Proposed Funds) and fulfilling the fundraising requirements. These shortlisted applicants are required to submit further information of the Proposed Funds within a specific period, including but not limited to the final list of all limited partners (LPs) from the market, their respective backgrounds and commitment amounts, the proposed final fund size, the proposed management fees, the proposed mix and concentration of LPs, the final draft legal documents of the Proposed Fund such as limited partnership agreement and fund subscription agreements.
• The Government will, as the last LP, commit capital into each Proposed Fund of the selected fund managers.

Eligibility of a Proposed Fund

The Proposed Fund must meet the following criteria:

1. it must be a limited partnership fund registered under the Limited Partnership Fund Ordinance (Cap. 637);
2. the applicant must be the general partner of the Proposed Fund;
3. it must have a total fund size of at least HK$2 billion; and
4. it must satisfy all key terms and conditions stated in Annex I to the application guidelines.

Eligibility Requirements and Selection Criteria in Stage One

An applicant must meet the following eligibility requirements: 

• it must be incorporated in Hong Kong under the predecessor Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) or the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) and have an established office in Hong Kong with a locally-based team working at an office in Hong Kong for the purpose of the ITIF scheme. For an applicant that does not have an established office in Hong Kong with a locally-based team at the time of submitting the application, the applicant shall submit their plans of establishing a locally-based team and ensure that they will have an established office in Hong Kong with a local team when the Proposed Fund is set up;
• it must hold licence for Type 9 regulated activity (asset management) issued by the Securities and Futures Commission. For an applicant that does not hold the licence at the time of submitting the application, the applicant shall submit the progress or plan of their licence application and ensure that they will have successfully obtained the said licence within 3 months after the application deadline;
• it must possess relevant experience, with a track record of raising funds for private equity (PE) investment or managing PE investments with assets under management totalling HK$2 billion or above (or equivalent amount in foreign currencies);
• it must have a number of (at least 5) successful PE investment cases (such as exited an investment with positive return, an investee company succeeded in listing on a stock exchange etc.) in relevant thematic areas that the Proposed Fund will focus on;
• it must have the capability to bring at least 5 non-Hong Kong enterprises to establish their operations in Hong Kong, and possess relevant track records (reference can be made for experience of bringing companies to establish their operations in other economies); and
• it must provide signed letter(s) of intent for a total of at least HK$1 billion capital commitment from potential LP(s) of the Proposed Fund when submitting the application.

The applicants which meet the above eligibility requirements will be assessed based on the following selection criteria:

1. General background
2. Personnel
3. Investment strategy and processes
4. Investment performance
5. Team resources, experience and contributions
6. Fees

Fundraising Requirements in Stage Two

The shortlisted fund managers must meet the following fundraising requirements in stage two:

1. if the capital commitment of strategic investor(s) is secured, the fund manager shall raise further capital from the market of at least HK$1 billion, or in the amount equivalent to half of the total commitments of the Government and strategic investor(s), whichever is higher;
2. if the requirement set out in item (a) above has been fulfilled, but the amount of capital raised has yet to reach the target fund size, the fund manager shall raise further capital from other market sources to reach the target fund size;
3. if the participation of strategic investor(s) has not been secured, the fund manager shall raise capital from other market sources to reach the minimum fund size of HK$2 billion;
4. a Proposed Fund shall maintain a reasonable mix of LPs. Each LP (including strategic investors, other market investors, and their respective affiliates) shall contribute a reasonable ratio in a Proposed Fund (i.e. each LP's contribution shall not exceed 50% of the total fund size); and
5. if the shortlisted fund manager in stage one cannot meet the fundraising requirements as stated in items (a) to (d) above within a 12-month period from being shortlisted in stage one, the Government will reserve the right not to make any capital commitment into the Proposed Fund.

How to apply

To obtain the application guidelines, interested companies are invited to provide your (i) company name; (ii) name and position; (iii) telephone no.; (iv) email address; and (v) office address by email to itif-enquiry@itc.gov.hk.

Interested companies should submit an application form, the required documents and any other supplementary documents, the duly-signed declaration form and signed letter(s) of intent to the ITIF Secretariat by 16 January 2026 (Hong Kong time) by email (itif-enquiry@itc.gov.hk).