Hong Kong is planning to set up an intellectual capital centre in the city's high-tech business park, Cyberport, that would provide training and information to companies on how to manage their intangible assets.

The plan was outlined by Alan Lung of ABCM Consulting at a seminar on managing intellectual assets held in Hong Kong last week. Other centres are proposed for the mainland Chinese cities of Hangzhou and Guangzhou.

A government decision on funding for the Hong Kong centre is expected in December.

Huang Fanzhang, vice chairman of the China Reform Forum, a Hainan think tank, said he favours the development of intellectual capital centres in the region because they help businesses in China to move from simply protecting IP to using it as an asset.

"The concept of IP protection in the mainland is still unpopular and fragile, and people's understanding of IP management is far from adequate," said Huang.

Those attending the seminar heard more about the experiences of other IP centres during presentations by Gordon McConnachie, founding chairman of the Intellectual Asset Centre in Scotland, Patrick Sullivan, a founder of the ICM Gathering, a meeting of intellectual capital managers from large companies, and David Llewelyn, director of the IP Academy in Singapore.

The IP Academy, founded in 2003, is dedicated to improving knowledge of IP in Singapore by organizing seminars, round tables and events such as the Global Forum on Intellectual Property in August this year. Its education courses include a graduate certificate in IP law and an MSc in IP management, which is due to start in August 2007.

The seminar, organized by the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department, was designed to introduce the concept of intellectual asset management to Hong Kong enterprises, said Stephen Selby, the director of the IP department.