The Nature Publishing Group (NPG) presented on May 12 the first 'Nature Publishing Index 2010 China' and ranked the University seventh among its fellow research institutions in China.

The rankings are based on the number of research papers published in 2010 in Nature journals, including Nature and the 16 Nature research journals covering broad areas of basic research. The index is generally taken as an indicator of the strength of research institutions in high quality basic research.

HKU Vice-Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui was delighted that HKU has been ranked among the top ten institutions in the Index, and was pleased to see the rise of China in publishing in top scientific journals. He said government support would be crucial to the development of research institutions. "The Hong Kong government should consider drastically increasing the funding to support scientific research of local higher institutions, which will surely help Hong Kong develop into one of the nation's leading city in scientific research. The Nature Index has clearly pointed to the strength and potential of Hong Kong in the area," said Professor Tsui.