Industry

As technological changes bring prospects for disruption, attention is turning to Hong Kong, a global centre of innovation. The HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition) gathers exhibitors and buyers from every sector in the confident expectation of game-changing technologies.

Innovation and technology (I&T) are important forces driving long-term economic development. The Hong Kong SAR Government has contacted more than 200 companies so far in its drive to attract innovative companies to the city, of which more than 25 had already settled or were planning to settle in Hong Kong, or expand their business scale in Hong Kong, with an investment of more than HK$17 billion (US$2.17 billion).

Cyberspace is rapidly supplanting physical space as a business environment. Even successful small firms need to put a lot of effort into navigating this setting, which is not only new, but growing and changing with amazing speed.

Those who were already in work during the heady 1990s, when simply tagging “.com” to the end of a brand name brought sky-high valuations, will also remember the blowout in the 2000s when most of the “dotcoms” vapourised leaving just a few to soar.

Firms in Mainland China are rapidly moving to expand abroad and regulatory, market and technological changes are paving the way for them.

The inaugural InnoEX, co-organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC, promoted Hong Kong’s strengths in innovation and tech.