Allen Yeung/ Leader of Digital Economy Group of the Committee, Member of Hong Kong Digital Economy Development Committee

At present, Fujian has built a large data center. More market needs are required to absorb this computing power and storage. Hong Kong also has a large market demand in this area, which helps to expand the business. Additionally, Hong Kong can direct some international demand to Fujian. Therefore, I think Hong Kong and Fujian can greatly complement with each other.

This is China Unicom Global Intelligent · Cloud Data Center, Fuzhou, which has been in operation for one year. It is a T3+ level data center that It connects to Taiwan through the Strait Optical Cable No. 1, with a communication network delay of less than 3.5 milliseconds. Currently, it houses 1,300 racks, with future expansion plans to increase total rack capacity to ten thousand. There is also a very special computer room here, specifically designed for the cross-border data business between Hong Kong and Fujian which officially commenced operations in May 2024. This represents a significant breakthrough in the field of digital economic cooperation, facilitated by the Consultative Committee on Fujian-Hong Kong Co-Operation (Fuzhou New Area).

Allen Yeung:

The electricity costs to store and compute data in Hong Kong are very high, and the land resource is limited, which imposes constraints on developing data centers. If ‘Hong Kong’s data could be stored and calculated in Fuzhou’, then Fuzhou could help to share the storage demand. The use of green electricity in Fuzhou is a great attraction too. The cost of electricity here is only one-third of Hong Kong’s. Since 80% of the operational costs of a data center are related to electricity, saving two-thirds of these costs would significantly reduce the operating expenses.

The Taiwan Strait, where Fujian is located, is one of the windiest sea areas in China. Coastal areas can experience winds above level 7 for more than 100 days throughout the year. Allen Yeung pointed out that green electricity in Fuzhou costs as low as RMB  0.45 per kilowatt-hour. Fujian has the potential to provide Hong Kong with high-standard, high-quality, low-cost AI computing services.

Some Hong Kong-funded enterprises are interested in building an artificial intelligence computing center for Hong Kong in the Fuzhou New Area Comprehensive Bonded Zone. However, according to relevant regulations, the shareholding ratio of Hong Kong and Macao investors cannot exceed 50%. Allen Yeung believes that more policy breakthroughs are needed.

Allen Yeung:

I hope Fujian can strive to allow 100% Hong Kong capital to invest and operate data centers here. All cross-border affairs involve trust and some policy breakthroughs. It would be a strong support if data can be freely transferred in and out without approval. Moreover, we need to establish a Fujian-Hong Kong data management method to ensure that Hong Kong or international data can be safely stored in Fujian.

Allen Yeung said that the next step for the Consultative Committee on Fujian-Hong Kong Co-Operation (Fuzhou New Area) will be to explore the establishment of a physically isolated and independently managed zone in Fuzhou New Area to ensure that Hong Kong data will not be mixed with mainland data. Additionally, they plan to establish a Fujian-Hong Kong International Data Center Management Committee to create a set of innovative management mechanisms.

The GDP of Fujian Province exceeded RMB 5,435.5 billion in 2023.  

- The digital economy contributes more than half of the province’s total economic output.

- The Fujian Big Data Exchange’s on-site trading volume currently ranks first in China.

- Data asset securitization is also one of the key cooperation directions in the digital economy between Fujian and Hong Kong.