• Emerging technologies are democratising access to tools and capabilities previously exclusive to larger businesses.
  • SMEs’ understanding of and readiness to employ new tech lags behind their belief that it will confer benefits, survey finds.

Hong Kong’s small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are tapping into new technologies like AI to help run their businesses, as the growing availability of such tools – some of which are cheap or even free, helps them save time and money.

Medium-size enterprises in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong government defines an SME as a non-manufacturing firm with fewer than 50 employees or a manufacturing firm with fewer than 100 employees.

SMEs in Hong Kong number 340,000, accounting for 98 % of the total number of enterprises in the city and employing 45% of the private sector workforce.

Nearly three-quarters of the city’s businesses feel ready to incorporate such new technologies within the next year, rising to 90% by the next decade, according to the survey released on Wednesday.

Blockchain, machine learning, and robotic hardware are the top three new technologies SMEs said they are considering investing in, each cited by around 60% of respondents.

HSBC’s survey of nearly 3,000 business leaders from around the world, including 534 from Hong Kong, found that 26% believe leveraging technology can help cut costs.

Christina Ong, the head of business banking for HSBC Hong Kong said, “Emerging technologies are levelling the playing field for SMEs by democratising access to tools and capabilities previously exclusive to larger businesses.”

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Challenges

While SMEs are eager to take advantage of technological advances, many also point to barriers to using these technologies, with 31% citing the cost of investing in such systems and upgrading the skills of their staff as the biggest challenge they face.

The survey also found that SMEs’ understanding of new tech lags in some areas, with 88% of businesses surveyed saying they believe generative AI will create opportunities, but only 35% saying they are familiar with it.

Depending on their needs, SMEs can find ways to access some new technologies on a budget, said Arthur Chan Chi-yuen, the founder of local tech company SagaDigits.

“The cost of accessing some tools and models is getting lower,” he said. Chau’s company uses off-the-shelf tools like WhatsApp chatbots, which can be acquired cheaply, to help manage replies to clients.