A new industry body has been launched in Hong Kong to position the city as a “super connector” in the rapidly expanding global space economy, as stakeholders renew calls for the city’s government to establish a dedicated space industry office.
The Space Economy Association (Hong Kong) — an independent membership-based non-governmental organization — came into being on Monday to link space-related industries, investors, educators and governments, and channel more commercial space activity through the special administrative region’s professional services sector.
The association aims to leverage the SAR’s strengths in finance, law, insurance, and arbitration, according to Bernard Charnwut Chan, chairman of Our Hong Kong Foundation, who’s also a patron of the group.
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The global space economy, estimated at $630 billion in 2023, is projected to nearly triple to $1.8 trillion by 2035 as launch costs fall and private players pour into orbit-focused businesses ranging from satellites to smart mobility.
SEA Chairman Professor Richard Leung said Hong Kong’s “top-class professional services” can support the full lifecycle of space ventures — from research and innovation to startup, scale-up and listings — creating new jobs and business opportunities for young people.
The NewSpace economy is “not simply about rockets or satellites”, but the commercial possibilities they unlock for bankers, insurers, accountants and lawyers, Chan said.
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The SEA, which evolved from the Orion Astropreneur Space Academy founded in 2020, has about 100 co-founders, more than 150 active members and over 40 industry partners. Its leaders hope the new platform will complement mounting calls by politicians and industry figures for Hong Kong to set up a one-stop space office to coordinate policy and capture a bigger share of the NewSpace boom.
China, identified as the world’s second-largest space power, has made the space sector one of four emerging strategic industries in its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), with more than 100 commercial space companies collectively raising billions of US dollars.
Contact the writer at jessicachen@chinadailyhk.com
