HKMA launches IP financing sandbox for innovative SMEs

Sandbox aims to assist pilot sectors in leveraging IP assets

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), in collaboration with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) and the Intellectual Property Department (IPD), launched the Intellectual Property (IP) Financing Sandbox on 22 December 2025.

The Sandbox serves to provide an environment for banks, IP valuation firms, legal practitioners, and other relevant professions to test the full lifecycle of IP financing arrangements that are based on IP assets such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights, according to the press statement by the HKMA.

Through the Sandbox, banks can develop and refine their IP financing arrangements with the support from multidisciplinary professionals as well as guidance by the HKMA, CEDB and IPD, according to the statement.

This initiative can also enable banks to accumulate practical experience in providing IP financing to better serve the needs of innovative enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises which are rich in IP assets but may lack tangible assets that can be pledged as collateral for bank financing, said in the statement.

Three major banks in Hong Kong have joined the Sandbox as inaugural participants, and have solicited interests from clients from the biotechnology, electronics and technology sectors to conduct pilot trials of IP financing through the Sandbox.