Three decades ago a young scientist working at CERN, the international nuclear research facility that straddles the French-Swiss border, proposed solving the problem of sharing the vast amount of data his field generated by linking text mark-up with the Internet, which at that stage was little-known outside academic and military circles.
Web 3.0, blockchain, the Metaverse and other nascent technologies are at the cutting edge of industrial development and naturally create a need for agile, skilled and dynamic software developers. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a hotspot of industrial development, generating strong demand for expertise in these technologies.
At a webinar entitled “Exploring the Metaverse: How SMEs Can Get Started”, organised recently by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Research, industry experts explained business models and applications that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can use to access the metaverse through non‑fungible tokens (NFTs). Louis Chan, Principal Economist (Global Research) of the HKTDC, said SMEs with limited resources should draw up comprehensive plans for metaverse development, and learn how to use products such as NFTs for brand‑building, and ensure good management of the metaverse community.
After the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government eased COVID-19 entry restrictions last month, ending the hotel quarantine requirement for inbound visitors, the city is gearing up to receive a rush of travellers. The Travel Industry Council expects departures to surge as much as 50% over the next few months. To lure visitors back to the city, meanwhile, the Hong Kong Tourism Board is set to offer 500,000 free airline tickets next year once all remaining travel restrictions are dropped.
The rise of the metaverse is set to change the way individuals and businesses interact with the real world. This seminar/workshop, titled “Exploring the Metaverse: Creating Digital Assets”, will examine how a Hong Kong-based global leader in games, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), is spearheading the creation of a user-generated content ecosystem to ensure its home city can continue to thrive in a new decentralised digital era.
The metaverse can offer an effectively unlimited virtual business space to enterprises. Many Hong Kong firms are gradually incorporating the metaverse into their business, integrating online and offline resources, creating synergies and exploring new business opportunities.
The lockdowns in the Yangtze River Delta region during the April COVID-19 outbreak put a damper on economic activity and, inevitably, impacted many of the activities of Hong Kong investors in the region. With the pandemic situation in the region gradually stabilising, Shanghai has initiated a phased resumption of business activities, while the municipal government has looked to introduce additional measures aimed at preventing future infection clusters, bolstering enterprises and promoting the region’s overall development.
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