TSF provides financial support to non-profit-distributing organisations to implement projects which aim at enhancing the competitiveness of non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in general or in specific sectors. The TSF is administered by Trade and Industry Department (TID).

The TSF is a merger between the previous SDF and the BUD Fund (OSP). While the SDF used to support projects for enhancing the competitiveness of Hong Kong SMEs with no geographical restrictions, the BUD Fund (OSP) used to support projects that aimed at assisting non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in developing the Mainland market. After merging the two schemes, the TSF provides financial support to non-profit-distributing organisations to carry out projects which aim at enhancing the competitiveness of non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in general or in specific sectors, including assisting them in developing any markets (i.e. no geographical restrictions).

The operational details of the TSF including funding ceiling, project duration, vetting and monitoring mechanism are the same as the previous SDF and the BUD Fund (OSP).

Non-profit-distributing organisations (e.g. trade and industrial organisations, professional bodies or research institutes, etc.) are eligible to apply for the TSF. The applicants should either be statutory organisations or organisations registered under the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Non-profit-distributing organisations refer to those organisations which do not distribute profit to their directors, shareholders, employees or any other persons. When applying for the TSF, an applicant has to declare in the application form that it has not distributed and will not distribute any profit generated by the applicant in the past and during the project duration to any of its directors, shareholders, employees or any other persons. The applicant should provide supplementary information, such as the Articles of Association or Constitution (if applicable), to prove that it is non-profit-distributing in nature.

Yes. An organisation registered under the Societies Ordinance (Cap 151) or the Companies Ordinance (Cap 622) is eligible to apply for the TSF. The applicant should provide supplementary information, such as Articles of Association or Constitution, to prove that it is non-profit-distributing in nature.

Applicants are required to submit a proposal with an implementation plan before commencement of the project. Projects which have already started will not be considered normally .

No. Projects which have already received or will receive other Government funding support will not be considered under the TSF.

The Government has set up different funding schemes with different objectives. Projects rejected by other Government funding schemes can apply for the TSF as long as they can meet the objective and requirements of the TSF. However, applicants are required to disclose in the Application Form that they have previously sought financial support from other Government funding schemes on the same proposal.

No. The TSF only allows one applicant for each application. The applicant must be a statutory organisation or an organisation registered under the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

An implementation agent assists the applicant in carrying out the project according to the project proposal. There is no specific requirement on an implementation agent, but the applicant should provide evidence on the Application Form to show that the implementation agent has the capability to conduct the project effectively. There may be more than one implementation agent in a project.

Collaborating organisations are any organisations (other than for-profit commercial entities or those with political affiliations) which have agreed to provide support to the applicant in relation to the project, such as promoting the project and the deliverables to Hong Kong enterprises. There may be more than one collaborating organisation in a project.

Yes, it is not a must for an applicant to engage an implementation agent for carrying out a project under the TSF.

Applicants can submit proposals on topics which have been approved under the TSF (or the previous SDF or BUD(OSP)) before. The Vetting Committee will consider the content, new features and added-value of the proposal to decide if approval is justified.

The TSF has no geographical restriction. As long as an applicant can demonstrate that the proposed activities, no matter where they are to be held, can enhance the competitiveness of non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in general or in specific sectors, the application will be considered.

All projects that are conducive to enhancing the competitiveness of non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in general or in specific sectors may apply for the TSF. Activities under the projects may include seminars, workshops, conferences, exhibitions, research studies, award schemes, codes of best practices, databases, service centres, support facilities and technology demonstrations, etc.

Project activities which are or will be in receipt of other Government funding support will not be considered.

There is no specific requirement on the number of beneficiaries under a project. As a general rule, a project which can benefit more Hong Kong enterprises is considered more cost-effective.

Applicants should exercise prudence and economy in preparing the budget. Where practicable, they should contribute their existing resources and maximise the input from their own organisations. Applicants are required to ensure that all expenditures are used in a cost-effective manner and each expenditure item is well justified.

In general, expenses that are directly related to the project (e.g. salary of additional and existing staff directly incurred for the project, procurement or leasing of additional equipment, implementation fee, other direct costs such as venue rental for seminars, costs on printing of leaflets, etc.) may be funded. Overhead expenses (such as rental, renovation expenses and utility expenses of the applicant’s premises), individual enterprises’ participation fees in project activities, entertainment expenses, expenses for meals and refreshments, and other administration costs, etc. are not funded unless explicit prior approval is given.

The maximum amount of funding support for each approved project is HK$5 million, or 90% of the total approved project expenditure, whichever is the less. The applicant has to contribute at least 10% of the total project expenditure, which may be in cash, in kind or in the form of sponsorship.

An applicant is required to contribute at least 10% of the total project expenditure. Contributions may be in cash, in kind or in the form of sponsorship from any third parties other than the Government. However, the fee for the implementation agent for carrying out the project shall not form part of the sponsorship in counting towards the applicant’s contribution. Discount in purchases or price concession offered by suppliers or service providers or lessors shall also be excluded from the sponsorship.

The applicant has to provide documentary evidence to demonstrate that the quoted value of the in-kind contribution or sponsorship is in line with the market price; and after project completion, to prove that the in-kind contribution or sponsorship has been used during the project duration.

The Applicant can provide its contributions (including cash and in-kind sponsorship) by phases if the grant is to be disbursed in two or three instalments.

Salary (including employer’s contributions to the Mandatory Provident Fund) of additional manpower (full-time or part-time) directly incurred for the project and the applicant’s existing staff deployed for the project (on an hourly basis if only a certain percentage of the working time of the staff is deployed) may be funded. However, no sum shall be paid out of the TSF grant as emolument to a person who is already on the payroll of a Government-subvented organisation, but the salary of its existing staff may be included in the project cost and considered as an in-kind contribution.

For manpower charged on an hourly basis, a record on the working time devoted by the staff (including additional or existing staff) to the project shall be maintained and submitted to the Secretariat.

The salary of existing staff shall be charged at a flat rate throughout the project duration. Annual increment of existing staff shall not be charged to the grant.

Fringe benefits, allowances, insurance, year-end double payment, etc. of any staff recruited or redeployed for the project shall not be charged to the grant.

Drinks are regarded as refreshments, which are unallowable costs (see paragraph 4.2.1(B) of the Guide to Application). Unless prior express approval is given by the Vetting Committee, the grant will not cover such expenses.

Applications are accepted all year round.  They will be considered by a Vetting Committee on a quarterly basis. Meetings of the Vetting Committee are usually held in March, June, September and December each year.

No application fee is charged.

The required documents include:

• a. Duly completed and signed Application Form, with a soft copy (in MS Word Format);
• b. Registration documents of the applicant (if applicable) – Business Registration Certificate, Certificate of Incorporation, Certificate of Registration of a Society, Certificate of Registration of Trade Union; 
• c. Supplementary information, such as the Articles of Association or Constitution (if applicable), to prove that the applicant is non-profit-distributing in nature; and
• d. Letter of support from collaborating organisations (if applicable).
•  
• The original of the above supporting documents may be required for verification upon request.

The TSF Secretariat provides one-on-one consultation to eligible organisations to assist them in preparing applications. Your organisation may send the draft proposal to the Secretariat to request a meeting at least two weeks before the intended formal submission of application.

The completed Application Form together with the required supporting documents should be sent to the TSF Secretariat electronically, in person or by post (Address: 15/F, Trade and Industry Tower, 3 Concorde Road, Kowloon City, Hong Kong). If the application is submitted electronically, the applicant shall send the soft copy of the Application Form and the supporting documents with a valid digital signature of its authorised person supported by a recognised e-cert (Organisational) to the email address: tsf_apply@tid.gov.hk.

A rejected application may be resubmitted only if its content has been revised substantially or if the applicant is able to produce supplementary evidence to address the comments made by the Vetting Committee. A resubmitted application is treated as a new application and will be subject to the same assessment procedures.

The TSF Secretariat will conduct a preliminary assessment of all applications and seek clarification or supplementary information from the applicants. The applications will then be considered on a quarterly basis by a Vetting Committee, which is chaired by the Director-General of Trade and Industry (DGTI) and comprises members from various sectors.  Where necessary, comments and advice will be sought from other Government departments and experts.

All applications will be assessed according to its usefulness to non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in general or in specific sectors, its cost-effectiveness, the project implementation plan, etc. Details of the vetting criteria are set out in paragraph 3.3 of the Guide to Application.

The Vetting Committee usually meets in March, June, September and December to consider applications received in the immediate preceding quarter.

Under normal circumstances, applicants will be informed of the assessment result around one month after the respective meetings of the Vetting Committee.

Please refer to the table below for the vetting timeline:

The TSF Secretariat will notify the applicant of the assessment result in writing. If an application is rejected, the TSF Secretariat will inform the applicant the reasons for the decision.

The successful applicant (i.e. the grantee) is required to revise the project proposal, where necessary, and submit it together with a cash flow projection for the project (if applicable) to the Secretariat. The revised project proposal and cash flow projection will be further examined by the Secretariat. The grantee is then required to sign a Project Agreement with the Government, and the approved project proposal, the cash flow projection (if applicable) and the TSF Guide to Application will be appended to and form part of the Project Agreement.

The successful applicant (i.e. the grantee) is required to sign a Project Agreement with the Government and to comply with all the terms and conditions set out in the Project Agreement, the Guide to Application and the directives and correspondences issued by DGTI from time to time in respect of the project. The Project Agreement will cover the additional obligations, undertakings and indemnity of the grantee, the payment of the grant, treatment of intellectual property rights, conflict of interest and governing law and jurisdiction, etc.

To facilitate monitoring and evaluation of funded projects, the grantee is required to submit progress report(s) and audited accounts (for projects with two or three instalments), a final report and final audited accounts, and a post-project evaluation report to the Secretariat according to the specified schedule set out in the Project Agreement.

The grantee shall procure or lease equipment, goods or services for the project according to the following procedures:

a. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value not exceeding HK$5,000, quotations are not required if the project coordinator is satisfied that the prices obtained are reasonable and confirms so in the Progress/Final Reports.

b. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value over $5,000 but not exceeding HK$50,000, the grantee shall invite quotations in writing from at least 2 suppliers or service providers or lessors and accept the lowest conforming bid.

c. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value over HK$50,000 but not exceeding HK$300,000, the grantee shall invite quotations in writing from at least 3 suppliers or service providers or lessors and accept the lowest conforming bid.

d. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value over HK$300,000 but not exceeding HK$1.4 million, the grantee shall invite quotations in writing from at least 5 suppliers or service providers or lessors and accept the lowest conforming bid.

e. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value over HK$1.4 million, the grantee shall use open and competitive tendering procedures and accept the lowest conforming bid.

If the lowest conforming bid is not selected, prior written consent must be obtained from DGTI and full justifications shall be given.

With the objectives of ensuring openness, fairness and value for money, the grantee shall not divide procurement or lease requirements into instalments or reduce the usual duration of contracts with the purpose or effect of evading the need to obtain quotations or abusing the procedures; or bundle procurement or lease requirements of unrelated nature into one single quotation.

For grantees that are universities or statutory organisations, they may adhere to their established standard procurement procedures subject to the approval of the Vetting Committee. Those who wish to apply for this exemption should send a copy of the relevant procedures to the Secretariat for consideration by the Vetting Committee before signing of the Agreement.

The TSF will not provide additional grant to an approved project after signing the Project Agreement. The grantee is required to pay for any over expenditure of the project.

Such transfer is only allowed for an expenditure item if its actual expenditure does not exceed the original approved budgeted amount by 20% or the revised amount does not exceed $100,000. Otherwise, DGTI's prior written approval is required. In no case should such transfer increase the total approved expenditure of the project.

All intellectual property rights in the project materials (other than Third Party Materials) shall be and remain vested in the grantee immediately upon creation.