To assist Hong Kong enterprises in seizing the opportunities presented by China’s “12th Five-Year Plan,” the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government launched the “Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales” (BUD Fund) in June 2012. The Fund is designed to help enterprises expand and develop their businesses in the Mainland market by developing their brands, upgrading their operations and exploring domestic sales channels.
In August 2018, the government expanded the funding scope of the BUD Fund to cover the ASEAN market, and in January 2020, further expanded it to cover other economies that have signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Hong Kong, with the aim of assisting enterprises to seize economic opportunities.
Starting from July 2021, the government has implemented a series of optimization measures, including expanding the funding scope to cover all economies that have signed Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs) with Hong Kong.
To strengthen support for enterprises in enhancing their competitiveness and developing diversified markets, from November 2022, the cumulative funding limit per enterprise under the BUD Fund has been raised to HKD 7 million, and the maximum number of approved projects per enterprise eligible for funding has also been increased to 70.
The funding scope includes Mainland China, Macao, Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Chile, Georgia, Iceland, Indonesia, Laos, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
香港資助基金幫助中小企發展
為協助香港企業把握國家「十二. 五」規劃的機遇，香港特別行政區政府於2012年6月推出「發展品牌、升級轉型及拓展內銷市場的專項基金」（簡稱「BUD 專項基金」），協助企業透過發展品牌、升級轉型及拓展內銷市場，開拓及發展內地市場業務。
政府於2018年8月將「BUD 專項基金」的資助地域範圍擴大至東南亞國家聯盟（「東盟」）市場，其後於2020年1月進一步將基金的資助地域範圍擴大至涵蓋其他與香港簽署自由貿易協定（「自貿協定」）的經濟體，以協助企業把握經濟機遇。
於2021年7月起分階段推出優化措施，包括擴大資助地域範圍至涵蓋所有與香港簽署促進和保護投資協定（「投資協定」）的經濟體。
為加強支援企業提升其競爭力及發展多樣化市場，由2022年11月起，每間企業於「BUD專項基金」下的累計資助上限已提升至七百萬元，而每間企業可獲資助的核准項目上限亦已提升至七十個。
資助地域範圍包括：內地、澳門、澳洲、文萊、柬埔寨、智利、格魯吉亞、冰島、印尼、老撾、列支敦士登、馬來西亞、緬甸、新西蘭、挪威、菲律賓、新加坡、瑞士、泰國、越南、日本、韓國、奥地利、比利時、加拿大、丹麥、芬蘭、法國、德國、意大利、墨西哥、荷蘭、盧森堡、瑞典、英國、科威特、阿拉伯聯合酋長國。
