TVP and EMF Are Closed: What Funded Websites, and What Replaced Them (2026)

Are TVP and EMF still open?

No. The Technology Voucher Programme (TVP) ceased to accept new applications after 31 December 2024. The scheme's documents are now marked for reference by applicants who applied before the deadline. HKPC's TVP page states this directly.

The SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF) was consolidated into the BUD Fund with effect from 1 July 2026. Only promotion activities completed on or before 30 June 2026 were processed, and the final reimbursement window for those activities has also passed. The Trade and Industry Department's BUD Fund page confirms the consolidation.

That means there is currently no live TVP or EMF route for a new website project. Anyone offering to secure TVP or EMF funding for a website you have not yet started is selling something that no longer exists.

What did TVP pay for?

The figures below describe TVP as it stood, from the January 2025 Guidance Notes for Applications. They are historical terms, not a live offer.

• Funding cap: up to HK$600,000 per eligible enterprise, on a 3:1 matching basis.
• Matching ratio: the Government funded no more than 75% of the approved project cost; the applicant had to contribute at least 25% in cash. Contributions in kind were not accepted.
• Number of projects: up to six projects per applicant, within the HK$600,000 cumulative ceiling — and only one TVP project at a time.
• Completion: each project should normally be completed within 12 months.
• Starting a project: a project must not have commenced before the application was submitted. Applicants could start the day after submission at their own risk, by filing a Declaration and Undertaking within five working days — if the application failed, they bore the full cost.
• Audit: projects with approved funding over HK$50,000 required an audited statement from an independent auditor (a Certified Public Accountant holding a practising certificate). The maximum audit fee counted towards the project cost was HK$3,000.
• Payments: an initial payment of up to 25% of the approved funding after signing the funding agreement and showing proof of the applicant's own contribution; the balance on completion and acceptance of the final project report, due within two months of completion.
• No double-funding: expenditure under an approved TVP project could not also receive funding from other local public funding sources.
• Eligibility: the applicant had to be registered in Hong Kong under the Business Registration Ordinance, or incorporated or registered under the Companies Ordinance, or a statutory body; not a listed company or a government-subvented organisation; and have substantive business operation in Hong Kong related to the project. A shell business registration did not count.
• What TVP did not fund: normal business operating costs, including marketing and branding expenses, rental, staff salary and MPF, general office IT, maintenance, warranty and insurance, non-technology professional fees, transport and accommodation, and financing expenses.
• Off-the-shelf items: readily available items should have made up no more than 50% of the project cost; applications involving merely procuring off-the-shelf items were generally not supported. Subscription-based services were fundable for up to 12 months.
• Records: funded assets had to be kept for at least one year after completion; books and records for each project had to be kept for seven years. The Secretariat conducted random on-site checks.
• Websites specifically: the Guidance Notes contain no standalone “website” category. A website project fell under the general rule — technological services or solutions improving productivity or transforming business processes.

Source: TVP Guidance Notes for Applications, January 2025.

What did EMF pay for websites?

From the EMF Guide to Application, May 2025 Revision, and the Trade and Industry Department's EMF pages. Historical terms — EMF no longer exists as a separate fund.

• Cumulative ceiling: each enterprise could receive up to HK$1,000,000 under EMF across all its applications.
• Per-application terms (final rules, from 14 March 2025): funding on a 1 (Government) : 3 (enterprise) matching basis — the Government paid 25% — or HK$100,000, whichever was less. Each application covered one promotion activity.
• Website sub-cap: at most 50% of the cumulative limit — HK$500,000 — could be used for setting up or enhancing a corporate website or mobile application.
• Re-application bar: within two years of being funded for a website or app, no new website or app application from the same enterprise was accepted.
• Export focus: the website or app had to mainly target markets outside Hong Kong. A website aimed only at Hong Kong customers did not fit this route.
• Website conditions: the funded site had to stay in operation for at least one year after setup or enhancement and receipt of funding; daily maintenance, staff salaries for running the site, and sales-based commissions were not funded; the service provider had to be an information technology company with a good track record; the site had to carry the enterprise's full company name, Hong Kong contact information, and information about its products or services; and the domain name had to be owned by the applicant enterprise.
• Timing: reimbursement applications within 60 calendar days of the activity's completion; initial-payment applications 45–120 calendar days before commencement, with an initial payment of up to 20% of the preliminarily approved funding.
• Eligibility: a non-listed enterprise registered in Hong Kong under the Business Registration Ordinance, with substantive business operations in Hong Kong. Connected enterprises — sharing business nature, address, contact numbers, shareholders or directors — were aggregated as one enterprise for the ceiling.
• Caution on old figures: an older EMF guide (September 2018) still found online states a 50% ratio and a HK$400,000 cumulative limit. Those figures were superseded — use the May 2025 Guide.

Sources: EMF Guide to Application, May 2025 Revision; TID EMF funding ceilings.

Did TVP require one year of Hong Kong registration?

Some secondary sources claim TVP required applicants to have been registered in Hong Kong for at least one year. One such source makes that claim — but the same page also claims an employee-count limit that contradicts the official Guidance Notes, so treat it as unreliable.

The official TVP Guidance Notes state no such minimum. Their eligibility paragraph lists three tests — Hong Kong registration or incorporation, not listed or government-subvented, and substantive business operation related to the project — with no minimum registration duration. “Year of establishment” appears only as one factor among many for assessing substantive business operation, not as a one-year threshold. The same pattern holds for EMF. Check the current official guidance notes rather than relying on secondary summaries.

What replaced EMF? The BUD Fund

EMF was consolidated into the BUD Fund on 1 July 2026. The BUD Fund's cumulative ceiling per enterprise is HK$7,000,000, with a maximum of 70 approved projects.

Easy BUD — the streamlined stream — has a funding ceiling of HK$150,000 per application (raised from HK$100,000 on 15 June 2026), and its scope includes the establishment of an online sales platform.

E-commerce Easy lets enterprises use HK$1 million flexibly within the HK$7 million ceiling for e-commerce projects in the Chinese Mainland and ten ASEAN markets.

The BUD Fund's matching ratio is 1 (Government) : 3 (enterprise) — the Government funds 25%. Its geographical coverage extends to 48 economies from 15 June 2026.

What we could not verify: whether the BUD Fund supports a standalone corporate brochure website the way EMF supported export-focused websites. The verified BUD website-adjacent items are online sales platforms (Easy BUD) and e-commerce projects (E-commerce Easy). Check the current BUD Guide to Application before assuming a brochure site qualifies.

Sources: TID BUD Fund page; Government LegCo reply, October 2025.

What should you do now?

If someone offers to secure TVP or EMF funding for a website you have not started, be sceptical: neither scheme accepts new applications.

If you have an approved or ongoing TVP project, follow its funding agreement — including the final report deadline and record-keeping duties described above.

For a new website with funding, check the BUD Fund's current guide — Easy BUD for an online sales platform, or E-commerce Easy for Mainland and ASEAN e-commerce.

Beware of fraud: the TVP Secretariat warns of fake emails, calls and letters impersonating it. Official Secretariat emails use the hkpc.org domain, and its calls display numbers starting with 2788 or 2789. Use only official channels.

If you are planning a website regardless of funding, see our web design service and pricing, or contact us to discuss your project. Our TVP service page carries the programme's historical terms and closure notice.

Verified as of 19 October 2026 against the sources linked above. Funding rules change; check the current official guidance before acting.

WebMaster HK is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Hong Kong Government, the Innovation and Technology Commission, or the Trade and Industry Department.