Recently, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) - Xinhe Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition (referred to as "HKUST Entrepreneurship Competition") concluded its Hong Kong regional finals successfully. The "GF Securities Innovation Award," sponsored by GF Securities (000776.SZ; 1776.HK), was ultimately won by the Pest0 team. The Pest0 team's natural insect-repelling granules, which are in the process of applying for a patent, won high recognition from the judges due to their environmental friendliness, reusability, and safety.
The competition not only showcased the innovative spirit of Hong Kong's youth but also highlighted the important role of GF Securities in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Lin Xiaodong, CEO of GF Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, said: "In today's global economic development landscape, the spirit of entrepreneurship is like a lighthouse, illuminating the journey of innovation. Entrepreneurs are not only dream chasers but also shapers of the future. They act as catalysts, stimulating the vitality of innovation and strength across society, and building a business ecosystem full of infinite possibilities. Through the million-dollar entrepreneurship competition, we have witnessed the inheritance and promotion of this entrepreneurial spirit. GF Securities (Hong Kong) is willing to walk side by side with all entrepreneurs with dreams, jointly writing a new chapter of high-quality innovative development."
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As a leading national securities firm deeply involved in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, GF Securities has always taken it as its mission to serve the construction of the Greater Bay Area and enhance the financial competitiveness of the region. Hong Kong, located at the core of the Greater Bay Area, has a highly international capital market, providing a fertile ground for the growth of startups. In response to the emerging force of innovation and entrepreneurship with a global vision in the Greater Bay Area, GF Securities has been sponsoring the HKUST Entrepreneurship Competition since 2017 for eight consecutive years, donating over a million dollars, and actively promoting the younger generation rooted in Hong Kong and looking at the world to engage in entrepreneurial endeavors, cultivating more outstanding future entrepreneurs facing the international market for the Greater Bay Area.
So far, the "HKUST Entrepreneurship Competition" has been successfully held for fourteen editions, expanding to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Foshan, along with Hong Kong, totaling five competition areas. It has discovered and cultivated many projects and teams with commercial prospects, including well-known enterprises such as DJI drones and Yunzhou unmanned boats. In 2024, the Hong Kong competition area had more than 300 participating teams and added an "International Student Track," inviting teams from 15 countries and regions including Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam, further enhancing its influence.
As a platinum sponsor of the HKUST Entrepreneurship Competition, GF Securities has been involved in supporting the competition throughout the process. In addition to establishing the named award, GF Securities also provides professional guidance and support for college student entrepreneurs based on its professional advantages in the capital market, and sends senior investors to serve as judges, exchanging face-to-face with participating student teams, and helping the HKUST Entrepreneurship Competition to proceed smoothly.
Over the years, the "GF Securities Innovation Award" has achieved remarkable results, with innovative projects covering emerging tracks such as fintech, biology, the Internet of Things, new energy, and healthcare, where unicorn enterprises have continued to emerge in recent years. Taking the Allegrow Biotech team established in 2023 as an example, its three co-founders, Dr. Liu Zhiming, Dr. Zeng Jingting, and Professor Zhou Ying, all come from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at HKUST. Dr. Liu Zhiming said: "We hope to showcase Allegrow's innovative immune cell culture technology through the competition. At the same time, the prize money and investment opportunities provided by the competition can also provide great help for the company's next development and expansion, and are conducive to achieving our product commercialization plan."
Currently, with the support of the prize money provided by GF Securities and the competition, the Allegrow team has steadily developed three products to meet different immune cell culture application needs. Looking to the future, Dr. Liu Zhiming said that the team will continue to optimize the AimGel technology, diversify the application of targeted immune cell culture, expand a broader market space, and help innovative biopharmaceutical factories to carry out batch immune cell culture more efficiently and conveniently. It is expected that by 2026, products that meet GMP standards will be launched, stepping onto a new level.
Domestically, GF Securities has initiated the "GF Securities College Student Micro-Entrepreneurship Action" for 10 consecutive years, with a total investment of more than 20 million yuan, providing support funds of 9.7 million yuan for 470 outstanding entrepreneurial projects, and employing more than 300 micro-entrepreneurship mentors to enter more than 60 universities to carry out a series of colorful entrepreneurial activities. These activities not only provide valuable support and guidance for college student entrepreneurs but also effectively promote the integration of industry, academia, and research, as well as the cultivation of innovative and entrepreneurial talent.
GF Securities' efforts in the public welfare field go beyond this. The GF Securities Social Public Welfare Foundation, jointly initiated by GF Securities, GF Fund, GF Futures, and GF Xinde in 2011, is the first foundation in China with a securities firm as the main initiator and has obtained the highest level 5A of social organization evaluation. Over the past decade, the foundation has carried out a series of influential social public welfare projects with rural revitalization, education promotion, financial empowerment, and medical assistance as the main themes. So far, the GF Securities Social Public Welfare Foundation has donated nearly 300 million yuan.
Looking forward, GF Securities will continue to adhere to the public welfare concept of "Gathering Love, Starting from the Heart," actively fulfill social responsibilities, and promote the vigorous development of youth innovation and entrepreneurship both domestically and internationally, contributing to the prosperity and development of the Greater Bay Area and the entire society.