Introduction

To help Hong Kong enterprises capture the opportunities arising from the National 12th Five-Year Plan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government set up a “Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales” (“the BUD Fund“) in June 2012 to assist enterprises in exploring and developing the Mainland market through developing brands, upgrading and restructuring their operations and promoting domestic sales in the Mainland.

The Government extended the geographical coverage of the BUD Fund in August 2018 to also include the Association of Southeast Asian Nation ("ASEAN") markets. A further expansion of the geographical coverage was implemented in January 2020 to cover other economies with which Hong Kong had signed Free Trade Agreements (“FTAs”) to assist enterprises in taking the economic opportunities.

The Government launched enhancement measures by phases in July 2021, including extending the geographical coverage of the Fund to include all economies with which Hong Kong has signed Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (“IPPAs“).

To strengthen the support to enterprises in enhancing their competitiveness and developing diversified markets, the cumulative funding ceiling per enterprise under the BUD Fund has been increased to HK$7,000,000 and the maximum number of approved projects per enterprise has been increased to 70 in November 2022.

The Government launched “Easy BUD” on 16 Jun 2023 to facilitate SMEs in preparing applications and implementing projects. The processing time of “Easy BUD” is shortened with simplified application and streamlined vetting arrangements. The funding amount per “Easy BUD” application is capped at HK$100,000.

banner-events.png   Consultation

Latest News

  • Effective from March 3 2024, the  geographical scope under the BUD Fund FTA and IPPA Programme has been extended to Bahrain. 
  • “Easy BUD” is launched on 16 June 2023. The processing time of “Easy BUD” is shortened with simplified application and streamlined vetting arrangements. The funding amount per application is capped at HK$100,000. Introduction video to "Easy BUD" can be viewed here.

  • Effective from November 7 2022, the cumulative funding ceiling per enterprise is increased from $6 million to $7 million and the maximum number of approved projects per enterprise has been increased from 60 to 70.

icon-48-write.png

All non-listed enterprises registered in Hong Kong under the Business Registration Ordinance (Chapter 310) with substantive business operations in Hong Kong are eligible to apply, irrespective of whether they belong to the manufacturing or service sector or whether they already have any business operations in the Mainland, FTA or IPPA economies.

icon-48-calculator.png

Funding will be provided on a matching basis, i.e. the Government will cover a maximum of 50% of the total approved project cost and the enterprise has to contribute no less than 50% of the total project cost in cash. During the tenure of the BUD Fund, each enterprise may obtain funding for a maximum of seventy approved projects and the total cumulative funding amount is $7,000,000 under BUD Fund.

icon-48-coin.png

Projects that assist individual Hong Kong enterprises in exploring and developing the Mainland, FTA or IPPA markets through developing brands, upgrading and restructuring operations and promoting sales are eligible.

icon-48-time.png

Each funded project of “General Application” should be completed within 24 months, while each funded project of “Easy BUD” should be completed within 12 months.