Hong Kong’s technology news in the first quarter of 2024 covered a range of advancements and challenges, compounded by the mainland government’s increasing management of all things technology-related in the city.
Items included, for instance: Hong Kong cryptocurrency trading as a Chinese mainland sandbox for testing; Hang Seng Bank’s $4.2 billion fund aimed at cross-border SME development; RISC-V semiconductor chip developments set for Hong Kong; the increasing scale of virtual and digital asset-related crime in Hong Kong; and more.
In March 2024 | In February 2024 | In January 2024
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MERICS: Aligning economic actors with China’s strategic goals
Hong Kong Tech: March 2024
- Hong Kong: BlockShow x BlockDown Asia 2024 conference set for May 8-9, looking at all things Web3 / read it here
- Hong Kong: Gov’t to allocate US$383M to Cyberport business park in 3-year AI subsidy scheme in bid to push universities, research institutes and businesses to use AI Supercomputing Centre / read it here
- ‘While mainland China bans all forms of crypto trading, the gov’t leaves the option open in Hong Kong… as a sandbox for Beijing to toy with web3 without potentially incurring financial volatility for the rest of the country.’ / read it here
- Hong Kong: Gov’t unveils Project Ensemble initiative to test functionality of a wholesale central bank digital currency and tokenization of private bank deposits / read it here
- Hong Kong Science & Tech Parks Corp unveils 74 global startups for biggest iteration of Elevator Pitch Comp 2024, drawn from semi-finals in HK, Silicon Valley, Stuttgart and Singapore / read it here
- Hong Kong: An overview of the upcoming BlockShow X BlockDown Asia 2024 event, and the Cointelegraph Accelerator Startup Connect element connecting Web3 and crypto startups with leading VCs / read it here
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority rolls out Phase 2 of e-HKD Pilot Program, opening applications for proposals on potential use cases of a digital HK dollar / read it here
- Animoca Brands invests in UAE’s Eesee, web3 company allowing users to place small bids on high-value assets like cryptocurrencies, NFTs and tangible assets / read it here
- Hong Kong: Hang Seng Bank launches $4.2BN SME Power Up Fund to boost small business development, including cross-border opportunities in China’s Greater Bay Area / read it here
- Hong Kong: HSBC now allows retail investors in Hong Kong to purchase real gold using digital ledger-based digital tokens / read it here
- China’s UBTech Robotics Corp stock price more than tripled in 2 days following the firm’s entry to the Hong Kong stock connect program, allowing mainland China investors to purchase its shares / read it here
- China’s Starfive Technology chip design firm to open R&D center in Hong Kong, focusing on the company’s RISC-V chips and alongside partnership looking at data center-focused chips / read it here
Navigating the Industrial Metaverse: A Blueprint for Future Innovations
: HK Tech news: Feb 2024
- An as-yet unnamed multinational lost $25.6M after Hong Kong branch employees were fooled by deepfake tech, partly featuring a digitally-recreated version of its CFO ordering money transfers in a video call
- Hong Kong: MediConCen secured $6.85M Series A with automation of insurance claims using AI and blockchain, with HSBC Asset Management leading the round
- Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce proposes issuance of ‘RMB stablecoins or stablecoins backed by a basket of different currencies, including RMB, in addition to HKD or USD stablecoins’
- “The government did not maintain such statistics on the cameras, Lee said at the time, adding that information on the camera systems involved “security matters.” Disclosing such information might unveil the government’s security arrangements and the investigatory techniques of law enforcement agencies to criminals, the minister said.”
- Hong Kong: An overview of Klook travel super-app following a $210M round that took the firm to $900M valuation, built on a market base of millennials and Gen Z across SE Asia
- Hong Kong: WOW3 Summit 2024 set for March 26-27, looking at all things Web3 – blockchain, crypto, bitcoin ETFs and more
- “Prices of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4090… are soaring across Asian markets as people are willing to pay hefty sums of cash for them and then resell them in China or Hong Kong at a higher price…”
- Hong Kong: “…in the past three years (from 2021 to 2023), the total number of crimes involving virtual assets was 1397, 2336 and 3415 cases worth 824 million, 1.704 billion and 4.398 billion yuan.”
- India: Hong Kong’s Clearbot marine-tech startup to launch a fleet of solar-powered autonomous boats to help clear river and ocean-borne pollution in India’s rivers
- Huawei cloud services to expand footprint with new data centres and launch of cloud service in Egypt, and AI-focused cloud computing centre in Hong Kong
Stablecoins – a potential counter to de-dollarization?
Hong Kong Tech, Jan 2024
- Hong Kong: Fund companies prepare to launch Virtual Asset Spot Exchange-Traded Funds in HK, in part to position as Asia’s first and front-runner location for crypto activities
- “It will be extremely challenging to become licensed as an issuer of a fiat-referenced stablecoin under the proposed regime,” said Ben Hammond, partner and office managing partner at Ashurst in Hong Kong. “Currently, it is also questionable how many issuers will even be capable of meeting the criteria to be licensed.”
- Hong Kong: China’s Harvest Global asset-management firm applies for spot-bitcoin exchange-traded fund with HK Securities & Futures Commission; in discussions around HK stablecoins sandbox
- “The combined value of shares listed on Indian exchanges reached $4.33 trillion as of Monday’s close, versus $4.29 trillion for Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That makes India the fourth-biggest equity market globally.”
- China’s GBA Capital unveils plan for $10BN fund to place Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao area as the ‘world’s meta-asset capital’, looking at metaverse, VR, NFT and similar investments
- An overview of the bitcoin ETF space, focusing on readiness in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates
KPMG: Virtual Assets 2023 Review and 2024 Outlook
Asian tech news: Other platforms
- Daily – LinkedIn / Twitter/X / Facebook
- Newsletters – weekly on LinkedIn / Substack
- Monthly collections – countries across AsiaPac / IndoPac
- Asia tech, quarterly – 3 months’ coverage per country
- Critical technologies – global news, monthly & quarterly
