Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales（the BUD Fund）
Objective
To help Hong Kong enterprises capture the opportunities arising from the National 12th Five-Year Plan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government set up a “Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales” (“the BUD Fund“) in June 2012 to assist enterprises in exploring and developing the Mainland market through developing brands, upgrading and restructuring their operations and promoting domestic sales in the Mainland，Economies with Free Trade Agreements and Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements . The cumulative funding ceiling per enterprise is up to $6 million.
Eligibility
All non-listed enterprises registered in Hong Kong with substantive business operations in Hong Kong are eligible to apply.
Key Features
Funding will be provided on a matching basis, i.e. the Government will cover a maximum of 50% of the total approved project cost and the enterprise has to contribute no less than 50% of the total project cost in cash. During the tenure of the BUD Fund, each enterprise may obtain funding for a maximum of sixty approved projects and the total cumulative funding amount is $6,000,000 under BUD Fund.
Funding could cover: Advertising and Promotion; Testing and Intellectual Property Rights; Additional Business Entity and Manpower; Upgrading or Developing Products; Project Audit, etc.
Assessment
Applications received will be assessed according to the following procedures:
(A) HKPC will conduct an initial assessment of all applications.
(B) An Inter-departmental Committee (IDC), comprising members from relevant government bureau/departments, will assess all applications (except those withdrawn cases) having regard to the results of the initial assessment conducted by HKPC.
(C) Based on the advice of the PMC, the Government would approve or reject the applications.
