Veteran industrialist Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu has been appointed as chairman of a government-owned company tasked with developing Hong Kong’s San Tin Technopole – a key pillar of the Northern Metropolis megaproject.

Authorities said on Wednesday that the San Tin Technopole Company would be created in the first half of 2026, with Chai starting his three-year term as board chair on July 1.

His tenure as chairman of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation will end on June 30, with Cordelia Chung named as his successor at the operator of the flagship innovation hub.

Chung previously served as a member of the corporation’s board of directors from 2017 to 2023.

She is also a lawyer and was the first Asian woman executive to serve on the chairman and CEO’s strategy team, where she was responsible for setting the company’s global direction at IBM China/Hong Kong Limited.

Additionally, she held senior leadership positions at IBM.

The San Tin Technopole Company, which is wholly owned by the government and has an initial capital of HK$10 billion (US$1.28 billion), will steer the development of the innovation and technology hub.