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As US-China pharma rivalry heats up, can Hong Kong’s US$8b fund be the global bridge?
Hong Kong Investment Corporation is stepping up its efforts to position itself amid Beijing’s challenge to US pharmaceutical dominance
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Julie ZhangandAlice LiPublished: 6:12pm, 7 Aug 2026
Hong Kong is stepping up its efforts to invest in a cluster of biotech companies, positioning itself as a linchpin in Beijing’s push to reach new levels of innovation and challenge the United States for dominance in the global pharmaceutical market.
Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), which manages about US$8 billion in assets and is wholly owned by the Hong Kong government, has built a biotech and healthcare technology investment portfolio covering both traditional Chinese and Western drugs to help transform the city into a global biotech hub.
“We have a pretty diversified portfolio covering upstream [to] downstream [of the full healthcare value chain], including Chinese medicine, Western medicine, [products] ranging from prevention, diagnostic treatments and [surgical] operations,” HKIC CEO Clara Chan Ka-chai said at the Global Health Summit in Hong Kong on Friday.
She added that HKIC has been linking AI and large language model firms with drug discovery companies in its portfolio, making the process of finding new medicines “cheaper, faster and better”.
HKIC has invested in more than 200 companies “covering high growth, high impact sectors, including biotech and health tech”, Chan said at the event, adding that the internal rate of return on the portfolio since its inception was 14 per cent as of end-2025.
The discussion among medical professionals and political leaders at the summit about Hong Kong’s role came as the rivalry between China and US in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector has intensified. Washington has rolled out a series of measures including the Biosecure Act in December, targeting China’s biotech ambitions.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed00:0000:001.00x