In the highly immersive and hypnotically engrossing digital artscape, the line between “real” and “virtual” is blurred. The once clearcut categorization of art genres becomes fuzzy. While this enables the artistic envelope to be pushed more easily and expansively, it doesn’t translate to a higher tolerance for intellectual property infringement and stakeholders in the industry have to decode the answer in no time, said panelists at the 12th Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum on Friday. There’s been a paradigm shift in mindset and sensibility to art and culture in recent years throughout institutions, museums, galleries and in individual artists in Hong Kong, from emphasizing “industry-based thinking” to “events-based thinking,” said Celina Chin, executive director of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, at the forum themed “HK’s Ambitious Cultural and Arts Hub Plan Unveils Vast Opportunities for IP industries”, co-organized by China Daily. The artistic envelope is not only being pushed physically — joining up with museums and co-organizing myriad activities with their counterparts in other countries, adds Chin — but also through merging and meshing of various art forms which are seemingly independent. A case in point was the recent “Ji” Concert held in July. “It is by no means a traditional ordinary concert featuring only the orchestra and conductor on stage. Instead, it involved lots of artists, including dancers, tai chi masters, a children’s choir, as well as behind-the-stage teams, such as set design, lighting design and costume design…” said Chin. That a mélange of artists from assorted art genres worked together to deliver the ultimately astonishing artistic punch means that it “involves a lot of IP” in the entire production, said Chin, which makes artistic IP protection all the more important, pressing and challenging. Putting most art productions online during the COVID-19 pandemic compelled major art and cultural players, like HKCO, to ponder over how to safeguard artists’ IP afresh. “We had to consult professionals and settle the IP issues with all the composers and different types of artists and art directors (in one single production) before we could finally go ahead with releasing the program online,” Chin said. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s reorganization of virtual assets, while it’s more relevant to the financial sector, is encouraging news for art and cultural stakeholders, said Heiman Ng, head of business development at Digital Art Fair. “We are on the right track in continuing pushing the boundary when it comes to art creation,” said Ng. A prime example of how savvy Chinese contemporary artists are employing cutting-edge technologies to perfect their artistic potency as well as cashing in on the roaring non-fungible tokens art trend, cited by Ng, is Life Fantasy, a collection by Jacky Tsai and pop singer Jay Chou, presented in Digital Art Air Hong Kong in September. The juxtaposition of contemporary art and pop music, bolstered by augmented reality technology, allows visitors a sensory immersive experience. The future of art and cultural landscape will be dominated by the NFT market, which is beckoning against the ‘crypto crush’, Ng predicts. The NFT market is no guarantee to secure IP ownership. Still riddled with loopholes and unsolved puzzles, the nascent NFT art scene has no shortage of complaints from “artists or original creators about being ripped off and (illegitimate) ‘copy and paste’ tactics even though they have minted their work on the blockchain,'' said Ng. “There are plenty of serious copyright infringement issues. Understandably, it’s just the beginning of the market and all stakeholders are putting in effort to optimize the market. I’d like to send the message here, ‘We’ll be here supporting all the artists, galleries and institutions, setting good examples of how we do the KYC (know your customer) for them’ ”, said Ng. Helen So, lead of arts and culture at Our Hong Kong Foundation, used South Korea’s cultural policies as an example to explain why Hong Kong should put more effort into intellectual property creation, licensing as well as trading to gear the city up for a global hub of cultural exchanges with the rest of the world. So highlighted the contribution of the South Korean administration to the success. The copyright bureau alone -- excluding other media and arts bureaus in South Korea -- injected about HK$539 million ($69.27 million) into copyright-related programs in 2021, while Hong Kong had a HK$217 million budget on all IP matters during the same period, So said. “Copyright and IP need to be part of today’s cultural policy-making,” she said. “We could have further collaborations with these existing infrastructures to see if we could open up copyright information for cultural IP to better let Hong Kong’s culture and creative assets be properly recognized, valued and respected all around the world.” Jeffrey Shaw, chair professor at the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University, said future cinema systems would be a major focus of the next generation of art technologies. Shaw is leading a team to develop the future cinema systems project, which will “push the boundaries of intelligent interaction technology in conjunction with media and art industry and cultural partners”. “The grand challenge of the project is to transform the cinema … as (it will create) a new dimension of interactive, immersive, computational and intelligent experience,” he said.

In the highly immersive and hypnotically engrossing digital artscape, the line between “real” and “virtual” is blurred. The once clear-cut categorization of art genres becomes fuzzy. While this enables the artistic envelope to be pushed more easily and expansively, it doesn’t translate to a higher tolerance for intellectual property infringement and stakeholders in the industry have to decode the answer in no time, said panelists at the 12th Business of IP Asia Forum on Friday. There’s been a paradigm shift in mindset and sensibility to art and culture in recent years throughout institutions, museums, galleries and in individual artists in Hong Kong, from emphasizing “industry-based thinking” to “events-based thinking,” said Celina Chin, executive director of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, at the forum themed “HK’s Ambitious Cultural and Arts Hub Plan Unveils Vast Opportunities for IP industries”, co-organized by China Daily. The artistic envelope is not only being pushed physically — joining up with museums and co-organizing myriad activities with their counterparts in other countries, adds Chin — but also through merging and meshing of various art forms which are seemingly independent. A case in point is a recent “Ji” Concert held in July. “It is by no means a traditional ordinary concert featuring only the orchestra and conductor on stage. Instead, it involved lots of artists, including dancers, tai chi masters, a children’s choir, as well as behind-the-stage teams, such as set design, lighting design and costume design…” said Chin. That a mélange of artists from assorted art genres worked together to deliver the ultimately astonishing artistic punch means that it “involves a lot of IP” in the entire production, said Chin, which makes artistic IP protection all the more important, pressing and challenging. Putting most art productions online during the COVID-19 pandemic compelled major art and cultural players, like HKCO, to ponder over how to safeguard artists’ IP afresh. “We had to consult professionals and settle the IP issues with all the composers and different types of artists and art directors (in one single production) before we could finally go ahead with releasing the program online,” Chin said. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s reorganization of virtual assets, while it’s more relevant to the financial sector, is encouraging news for art and cultural stakeholders, said Heiman Ng, head of business development at Digital Art Fair. “We are on the right track in continuing pushing the boundary when it comes to art creation,” said Ng. A prime example of how savvy Chinese contemporary artists are employing cutting-edge technologies to perfect their artistic potency as well as cashing in on the roaring non-fungible tokens art trend, cited by Ng, is Life Fantasy, a collection by Jacky Tsai and pop singer Jay Chou, presented in Digital Art Air Hong Kong in September. The juxtaposition of contemporary art and pop music, bolstered by augmented reality technology, allow visitors a sensory immersive experience. The future of art and cultural landscape will be dominated by the NFT market, which is beckoning against the ‘crypto crush’, Ng predicts. The NFT market is no guarantee to secure IP ownership. Still riddled with loopholes and unsolved puzzles, the nascent NTF art scene has no shortage of complaints from “artists or original creators about being ripped off and (illegitimate) ‘copy and paste’ tactics even though they have minted their work on the blockchain, said Ng. “There are plenty of serious copyright infringement issues. Understandably, it’s just the beginning of the market and all stakeholders are putting in effort to optimize the market. I’d like to send the message here, ‘We’ll be here supporting all the artists, galleries and institutions, setting good examples of how we do the KYC (know your customer) for them’ ”, said Ng. Helen So, lead of arts and culture at Our Hong Kong Foundation, used South Korea’s cultural policies as an example to explain that Hong Kong should put more effort into intellectual property creation, licensing as well as trading to gear the city up for a global hub of cultural exchanges with the rest of the world. It is estimated that South Korea’s cultural content market will be worth $70.9 billion in 2023, which will be the seventh-largest in the world, according to the national investment promotion agency Invest Korea. This is compared to $67.9 billion this year. So highlighted the contribution of the South Korean administration to the success. The copyright bureau alone -- excluding other media and arts bureaus in South Korea -- injected about HK$539 million ($69.27 million) into copyright-related programs in 2021, while Hong Kong had a HK$217 million budget on all IP matters during the same period, So said. So noted the Ministry of Culture in South Korea also established a digital copyright exchange in 2007 by working with stakeholders of the cultural industry, such as copyright holders, distributors and collective management organizations, to allow anyone who registered on the platform to trade and upload their works. “Copyright and IP need to be part of today’s cultural policymaking,” she said. “We could have further collaborations with these existing infrastructures to see if we could open up copyright information for cultural IP to better let Hong Kong’s culture and creative assets to be properly recognized, valued and respected all around the world.” Jeffrey Shaw, chair professor at the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University, said future cinema systems would be a major focus of the next generation of art technologies. Shaw is leading a team to develop the future cinema systems project, which will “push the boundaries of intelligent interaction technology in conjunction with media and art industry and cultural partners”. “The grand challenge of the project is to transform the cinema … as (it will create) a new dimension of interactive, immersive, computational and intelligent experience,” he said.

Hong Kong, 31 October 2022 – Cyberport’s premier annual venture capital event, the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (Forum) was successfully concluded on 28 October 2022. The forum was held again in a hybrid mode, gathering over 100 international venture capital experts, investors, venture companies and the Cyberport start-up community for two consecutive days. The forum, together with the Smart Living Venture Day, the Startup Workshop and the Startup Clinic, attracted around 2,500 participants and about 110,000 page views on the online platform. In addition, the forum also facilitated over 300 one-on-one meeting between investors and start-ups. Peter Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Cyberport, said, "Venture capital funds and investors play a crucial role in helping start-ups grow and prosper, and transforming Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub. Despite the current fund raising challenges, many of our venture capital fund partners are still active. Together with Government’s recent initiatives including the Strategic Tech Fund, we are confident on the sustained growth in Hong Kong’s I&T sector. Cyberport will continue to promote and facilitate the connection of start-ups with investors with a view to expanding their business networks, turning the fruits of their innovations into business opportunities, facilitating the living of citizens, and creating a triple win for start-ups, investors and the society.” Over 20 scholars, industry practitioners, investors and start-ups were invited to participate in the Smart Living Venture Day, which was held for the first time this year. Four forums were held around EdTech, ArtTech, GeronTech and SocialTech. The themes are "Transforming Education with Technology", "Reimagination of the Artistic World: Opportunities and Challenges", "Engineer an Innovative Retirement Life: GeronTech & HealthTech" and "To Make a Change in the Society – A Sustainable Model in Redistributing Resources", which explore the market demand, challenges and impact of the four types of technology on society, as well as the development of start-ups and the future of venture capital in smart living. Guest speakers included Prof Hal Abelson, Professor of Computer Science of Massachusetts Institute of Technology; John Tsang, Founder of Esperanza; Jennifer Ma, Group Chief Strategy Officer of CTF Education Group; Sunnie Lau, Director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Hong Kong Innovation Node; Dr Joseph Wong, Executive Director, Hong Kong Design Centre; Dr Joseph Coughlin, Director of MIT AgeLab; Dr Carmen Ng, General Manager (Elderly Services) of the Hong Kong Housing Society; Jacky Kwan, Chairman of Zebra Wellness Group and Chairman of Primary Care Education Foundation; Gilad Rosenzweig, Executive Director of MITDesignX; Dr. Tat Lam, CEO of SZC Holdings, and a group of start-up representatives. Hendrick Sin, Chairperson of Cyberport Investor Network Steering Group said, “As Hong Kong's digital technology flagship and incubator, Cyberport is committed to nurturing digital technology talent, promoting the development of the digital technology industry, and facilitating the integration of the new economy with the traditional economy. Cyberport actively organises the Forum to connect investors and start-ups with the venture capital community to raise capital and promote innovation and entrepreneurship." In addition, the Forum this year again featured Start-up Workshop sessions hosted by seasoned investors from Amino Capital, AngelHub and The Purposeful Project, offering practical tips and strategies to entrepreneurs with topics such as extending runway and leading in uncertain times; investing in Web3 in a bear market, exploring opportunities in the circular economy and the secret to building a successful business. At the Start-up Clinic, members from Cyberport Professional Services Network including CW CPA, Egon Zehnder, Ernst & Young, The Hoffman Agency, OPo Technology and Trinity Bridge Asia provided free interactive consultation services for addressing essential entrepreneurial issues of start-ups. Along with over 100 virtual exhibition booths, the integrated online event platform of the Forum , will remain open until 16 November for start-ups to showcase their innovative technology solutions, network with industry peers, explore business opportunities and watch the Forum contents on demand. Online investor matching session will continue until 7 November. For review detailed information on related seminars and a complete line-up of speakers of 2022 Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2022, please visit the website: http://cvcf.cyberport.hk/ For media enquiries, please contact: Cyberport Wong Tsz Hin Tel: (852) 3166 2835 Email: zacwongth@cyberport.hk Yuan Tung Financial Relations Agnes Yiu Tel:（852）3428 5690 Email: ayiu@yuantung.com.hk About Cyberport Cyberport is an innovative digital community with over 1,800 members, including over 800 onsite and 1000 offsite start-ups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, wholly owned by the Hong 5 Kong SAR Government. With a vision to be the hub for digital technology, thereby creating a new economic driver for Hong Kong, Cyberport is committed to nurturing a vibrant tech ecosystem by cultivating talent, promoting entrepreneurship among youth, supporting start-ups, fostering industry development by promoting strategic collaboration with local and international partners, and integrating new and traditional economic by accelerating digital transformation in the public and private sectors. For more information, please visit www.cyberport.hk

Guests of a local youth forum highlighted the enormous opportunities arising from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the technology, finance and culture and sports sectors, and called on Hong Kong’s young minds to build strength and courage to forge their way ahead. They shared the insights at the “Gathering Young Talent, Making a Difference” GBA Youth Development Forum 2022 on Monday. Co-organized by the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation and the Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund, the event attracted more than 700 young people, including high school students and undergraduates. Delivering a speech at the event, Daryl Ng Win-kong, chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, who has been involved in youth affairs for many years, said the Greater Bay Area has huge development potential. More and more high-level cooperation platforms, such as Qianhai in Shenzhen, Nansha in Guangzhou, and the Northern-Metropolis in Hong Kong, provide wide support in entrepreneurial services, including funding, training, and exchange opportunities. With favorable policies offered by Chinese mainland cities, and deepening intercity traffic links in the region, Ng said the Greater Bay Area presents Hong Kong young people with “unprecedented” development opportunities to build their dreams. Officiating at the event, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Erick Tsang Kwok-wai cited President Xi Jinping’s July 1 speech that the development of a nation is inseparable from focusing on youth, gathering talents and seeking innovation. He noted that the Greater Bay Area blueprint is a major national development strategy of reform and opening-up in a new era, and encouraged young people of Hong Kong to keep an open mind, equip themselves and seize opportunities in the promising cluster. With the nation’s support, young people will have enormous opportunities to realize their dreams with a view to making a contribution to the nation, serving Hong Kong, and becoming pillars of the world, Tsang said. Echoing Tsang’s words, Zhang Zhihua, director general of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said he hopes that all Hong Kong community sectors can make use of the promising platform of the Greater Bay Area to nurture local youths and help the underprivileged by providing internship and employment opportunities. The forum, which featured three themed panel discussions held both online and on-site, brought together youth leaders to share their views on how the continuous development of the Greater Bay Area will benefit Hong Kong youngsters in the technology, finance and cultural and sports areas. Speaking during the panel discussion on “New Realm of Innovative Technology”, Hendrick Sin, the co-founder, executive director and vice-chairman of CMGE Technology Group Ltd, shared his entrepreneurial journey and introduced the preferential measures that have been launched by local authorities in the Greater Bay Area, such as business incubation schemes and venture funds. Particularly upbeat about the future of mobile games and esports developments, he said he hopes Hong Kong and Guangdong province can deepen collaboration on related talent cultivation and form an esports ecological chain. He also encouraged Hong Kong to tap into the fresh opportunities in the metaverse and non-fungible tokens and establish its own advantages. Cindy Chow, executive director of Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, noted that Hong Kong’s position as a financial center remains strong. She said she hopes that the government will provide more support to enable startups to develop better in the Greater Bay Area. Startup leaders also need to have the courage and innovative thinking to adapt their product positioning to the changing environment. Kenneth Fok, member of the Legislative Council in the Functional Constituency for Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication, said that to further Hong Kong’s mission of developing into a global cultural hub, the Asian culture widely accepted by the global market is something that Hong Kong can explore and leverage. Young people in Hong Kong can make good use of the city’s convergence of Chinese and Western cultures to better tell Chinese stories, he noted.

【Press Release】 [HONG KONG, 24 OCTOBER 2022] Organised by the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, co-organised by HKET Holdings and the Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund, the “Gathering Young Talent, Making a Difference” GBA Youth Development Forum 2022 (‘the Forum”) was held today at the Conrad Hotel. Bringing together youth leaders from across Hong Kong, the Forum highlighted opportunities in the GBA for young people in the fields of innovation and technology, fintech, culture and sports. More than 700 young people, including high school students and undergraduates attended (also through online) to learn about pursuing a career or further studies in the Greater Bay Area, where they can fulfil their true potential. Officiating at the Forum were Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zhang Zhihua, Director General of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong, Chairman of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (Deputy Chairman of Sino Group), Dr Hu Zhanghong, JP, CEO of Greater Bay Area Homeland Investments Limited and Director of the Financial Services Development Council, and Ms Salome See Sau-mei, Group Managing Director of Hong Kong Economic Times Holdings and Managing Director of ET Net. Other guests attended were Mr Kenneth Fok, Executive Vice Chairman of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (Member of the Legislative Council, Vice President of the Fok Ying Tung Group), and Vice Chairmen of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation included Mr Adam Kwok (Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited), Mr Christopher Kwok (Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited), Mr Alex Yeung (Vice Chairman of Emperor Group) and Mr Calvin Choi (Chairman of AMTD Group), as well as Mr Vincent Yu, Managing Director of China Merchants Capital and Mr Yang Bin, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation. Guest speakers who delivered keynote speeches: (In no particular order) 1. Mr Hendrick Sin, Co-founder, Executive Director and Vice Chairman of CMGE Technology Group Limited 2. Mr Michael Li, Co-founder & Director of Titanology Limited 3. Mr Stark Chan, Founder of Bull.B Technology Limited 4. Mr Eric Yeung, Founding President of Esports Association Hong Kong 5. Ms Cindy Chow, Executive Director of Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund 6. Mr Tat Lee, Chief Executive & Executive Director of WeLab Bank 7. Mr Winston Wong, Co-founder & CEO of Qupital 8. Mr Fred Ngan, Co-founder, Co-CEO and Director of Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited 9. Mr Kenneth Fok, Member of the Legislative Council (Functional Constituency - Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication) 10. Mr Mathias Woo, Artistic cum Executive Director, Zuni Icosahedron, Convener of the “HK Belt Road City to City Cultural Exchange Conference” 11. Mr William Keong, Executive Director of Manner Culture Limited 12. Ms Prudence Mak, Founder & Creative Director of Chocolate Rain 13. Ms Vincci Hui, Former Olympian for Hong Kong Triathlon; 2-time Olympic Games TV Program Host and Commentator The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, GBS,IDSM,JP said, "President Xi Jinping, speaking in Hong Kong on July 1, highlighted the importance of our young people, said, ‘Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive; Hong Kong will develop only when its young people achieve well-rounded development, and Hong Kong will have a bright future only when its young people have good prospects’. The development of a nation is inseparable from focusing on youth, gathering talents and seeking innovation. The theme of today's forum, ‘Gathering Young Talents, Making a Difference’, echoes President Xi's call for young people: strive for innovation, develop a strong sense of responsibility, and contribute to the future of Hong Kong and our nation.” Mr Tsang hopes that young people become a new generation who loves Hong Kong and our nation, and participate actively in the integration with the overall development of the nation. Young people should make use of the advantages of "one country, two systems" in creating a bigger stage for development. He also encouraged young people to keep an open mind, equip themselves and seize opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. With the nation's support, young people will have enormous opportunities to realise their dreams with a view to making contribution to the nation, serving Hong Kong, and becoming pillars of the world. Mr Zhang Zhihua, Director General of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, put forward three propositions in his speech: “Firstly, I hope Hong Kong youth can seize the GBA development opportunities and build it up together. By unleashing their potential in a bigger stage, this helps them to step into the world platform; Secondly, I hope that all community sectors will care about the youth, make use of the greater platform of GBA to nurture them and help the underprivileged by providing internship and employment opportunities; Finally, I hope young people will seize the opportunities to integrate into the nation's development and build their dreams in the GBA.” Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, said, “The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area issued by the Central Government in 2019 has made the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the ‘GBA’) a national strategy. With its enormous potential for growth, the GBA offers unprecedented opportunities for Hong Kong Youth. The National 14th Five Year Plan has supported the development of Hong Kong into ‘eight centres’ capitalising on its strengths. Through today’s Forum ‘Gathering Young Talent, Making a Difference’, we provided an interactive platform to discuss and promote the continuous development of society. Young people are the future of our society, our Foundation will continue to support and nurture Hong Kong youth to become the pivotal forces in the development of the Greater Bay Area.” Topic 1 - New Realm of Innovative Technology – Fintech Talent to Embrace Enormous Opportunities The rapid development of the GBA has opened up a broader space for young people to seize new development opportunities. Young people interested in innovative technology should adopt professional, candid, pragmatic, and change-oriented attitudes, make good use of the resources provided in the GBA, and industrialise their innovations in a creative and entrepreneurial environment. This Forum allowed young entrepreneurs to better understand the policies and preferential measures available to them in the GBA, such as an incubation programmes and venture capital funds. Topic 2 - New Era in Finance – Digital Technology and Innovation in Financial Services Digital technology is driving innovation in global financial services, changing business models and users' expectations. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong offers a unique environment, backed by Mainland China and open to the world. Hong Kong should leverage on its strengths, for further development in financial technology to create more opportunities for young people. Speakers encouraged young people interested in finance or information technology to use their knowledge in finance, information, operation and management to become the new generation of Fintech talent. Topic 3 - New Perspectives on Culture and Sports - Promote the Diversified and Integrated Development of Culture and Sports As an international city in the GBA, Hong Kong has an important role to play in the development of culture and sports through the integration of hardware, software and ‘heartware’. This panel discussion focused on how Hong Kong can position itself in the GBA to promote the development of cultural and sports industries, to inspire young people and create diversified opportunities for them. Accelerating the two-way exchange of cultural and sports talent between Hong Kong and the Mainland, Hong Kong can become a cultural exchange centre between East and West. Today’s Forum provided an interactive platform for youth leaders from different sectors to discuss the important role of Hong Kong in the Greater Bay Area. During their discussions, they shared their views on how the continuous development of the region would benefit Hong Kong youth by allowing them to widen their perspectives, achieve their personal goals and contribute to the sustainable growth of the community. The Forum ended with very positive responses.

Hong Kong, 20 October 2022 – Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited is pleased to announce the winners of the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (“HERA” or “the Award”). Since commencement in 2018, HERA has witnessed enormous positive shifts in approach and attitude of companies to ESG and related issues. HERA has seen firsthand how more and more companies are promoting ESG values and actively practicing ESG concepts. In the fifth anniversary of the HERA this year, the number of applicants has reached a record high. Over 100 entries competed for a total of 10 awards, including the new “Excellent in Real Estate” award, which is a joint effort of HERA and the global ESG benchmark of the real estate industry – GRESB. Since its establishment, HERA has always recognised enterprises with outstanding performance in ESG Reports, and is committed to not just promoting sustainability performance of companies but also encouraging companies to follow the best practices of corporate ESG disclosure. Tony Wong, founder of Alaya Consulting and the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited, stated: “HERA’s commitment to promoting best practices in ESG is aligned with the market trend. Over the years, the winners of HERA have exceeded compliance requirements, and have successfully established the industry benchmark when it comes to disclosure standards. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), established in 2021, is expected to launch two new standards by the end of the year, which will no doubt promote the equal importance of ESG disclosures and financial disclosures. In the future, HERA will continue to shine light on the best ESG practices within the industry, and work with outstanding enterprises in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to promote coordinated development of ESG in the above regions” The winners (see appendix) are selected by an independent panel of judges, comprising of experts from different backgrounds, including business, non-governmental organisations and academia. It was an honour to have the following judges (in alphabetical order) to supervise HERA’s corporate performance evaluation process: Dr. Yarime Masaru, Associate Professor, Division of Public Policy, HKUST, Ms. Lisa Marie Djeng, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Keywise Capital Management (HK) Limited, Mr. Mike Wong, CEO, the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies, Mr. Joseph Chan, Head of Communications, and Engagement Section, Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Office (SRSDO), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and Ms. Judy Chen, CFA, Senior Researcher, Our Hong Kong Foundation. Overall, the judges panel was satisfied with ESG disclosure performance of the applicants and believed that the level of disclosure demonstrated by contenders for the awards was continuously improving, especially in terms of climate-related disclosures. In fact, many of the participating companies have made disclosures based on the TCFD framework and formulated corresponding quantitative indicators. The judges panel also encourages participating companies to increasingly incorporate ESG into their business strategies. Recognising that the current market is continuously affected by many uncertainties, a high level of ESG disclosure and dedication to adopting ESG best practices can help enhance companies’ competitiveness while also improving their resilience to the volatility of the market. HERA has a total of ten award categories this year, including Best ESG Report, Best Sustainability Report for Non-listed Company, Best GRI Report, Excellence in ESG Governance, Excellence in Environmental Positive Impact, Excellence in Social Positive Impact, Newcomer Award, Carbon Neutral Award, Outstanding ESG Improvement Award, and one new award category: Excellence in Real Estate. About HERA The Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards recognise companies for excellence in ESG disclosures, which helps them build trust among their stakeholders. The Awards welcome applications from companies in Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China that are dedicated to following outstanding practices in sustainability reporting. HERA is organised by Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited, a registered non-profit organisation. For more details, please visit our official website at https://hkesgawards.com/. About Alaya Consulting Alaya Consulting is an ESG consultancy focused upon ESG advisory, carbon emissions solutions, disclosure, data verification, ratings upgrade, and GRI Certified Training. We are the ESG partner of the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (HERA) and the first ESG Advisory in Asia to receive approval from SBTi regarding our carbon reduction target. Media Contact: HERA Organizer – Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited Susie Chen Tel: + 852 5120 5778 Email: susie@hkesgawards.com

A panel of heavyweights from the arts sector on Thursday said Hong Kong is poised to leverage its strengths under the “one country, two systems” principle to build itself into an international hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world. To achieve that ambition, as laid down in the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Hong Kong needs to make full use of its great talents, flourishing local arts scene, multitude of newly built facilities, mature infrastructure for art trading, and the creative industry, and help to enhance the soft power of Chinese culture as a place where East meets West, the panel said. Held at the Greater Bay Area Conference, co-hosted by China Daily Hong Kong Edition and Hong Kong Coalition, the panel discussion was themed “Strengthening Exchanges and Cooperation, Developing a Cultural Hub”. Speaking at the panel discussion, Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, said that what gives Hong Kong its uniqueness is the “one country, two systems” policy, which persuades most of the West, and countries around the world, to trust in the brand and trust in Hong Kong. The beautiful thing about Hong Kong is the freedom of artistic creation, which makes it an ideal place for the cultural exchanges and collaborations between East and West, said Zeman. Zeman stressed that the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) positioned Hong Kong as an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange for the first time, showing that the central government attaches importance to Hong Kong. Echoing Zeman, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs at Hong Kong Jockey Club Raymond Tam said the arts and cultural sector is thrilled by the central government’s strong support for Hong Kong to develop as an arts and cultural exchanges hub between China and the rest of the world. “We have great talents in Hong Kong, a flourishing local art scene, many newly built facilities and more in the pipeline, and mature infrastructure for art trading and the creative industry,” Tam said. Also weighing in, Tisa Ho, executive director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, said she believes that Hong Kong has one unique advantage in becoming a cultural hub, which is its global interconnectivity in the performing arts. In the opinion of Alvin Yip, adjunct professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the key to achieving that ambition is talent cultivation and integrated development. He strongly encourages Hong Kong youth to look to the north and south of the country, especially the newly emerging market in the south, adding that putting talents’ work together can co-create a win-win scenario. Mathias Woo, co-artistic director and executive director of Zuni Icosahedron, who also stressed the need for an integration of talent from the perspective of industry cooperation, said that the development of art requires not only art talents but also professionals from all sectors, such as lawyers, bankers, and academics. Woo also highlighted the importance of geographical integration and strongly suggested that the cities of the Greater Bay Area collaborate on different levels, for example, by founding an art tech hub, performing academy, visual academy, and culture think tank. The forum drew enthusiastic discussions, attracting many to join the Q&A session. When asked how it is possible to bring the GBA to an international audience, Zeman said the pandemic had affected Hong Kong a lot, suggesting that the city participate in more international events in the future and make efforts to build the brand not only in finance but also in culture.

Hong Kong should accelerate its exploration, research and study of the changing situations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area so that the city can better perform its superconnector role in the building of the region. Political and business heavyweights made the observations on Thursday at the Greater Bay Area Conference 2022 and 25th Anniversary Ceremony of China Daily Hong Kong Edition, themed “GBA: Integration Writes a New Chapter”. Co-organized by China Daily and the Hong Kong Coalition, the conference consisted of three panel discussions on how to promote technology and innovation, forge financial connectivity, and preserve cultural heritage in the city-cluster area, which comprises the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and nine cities in Guangdong province. Over 400 people, including government officials, business leaders, and experts from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and overseas, attended the hybrid event. Leung Chun-ying, a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said that “knowledge about the changing situations on the other side of the tiny Shenzhen River is key”, as better cross-boundary mobility of resources such as professionals, capital, goods and electronic data, is needed. Leung cited as an example the fact that Chinese customs officials have released new measures regarding Nansha district of Guangzhou, and these measures included the freer flow of materials for biomedical research, the development of an international logistics center, and cross-boundary e-commerce and aircraft leasing businesses. But the recent development of the Greater Bay Area is not detailed in Hong Kong media reports, or analyses by Hong Kong research institutions, or commentaries by Hong Kong opinion leaders, Leung added. “What it means is that Hong Kong has to double up efforts of exploring, researching, studying, comparing, ‘tea-sipping’ and engaging on the other side of the river,” Leung said. “As the most international city in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong should reinforce the advantage as the superconnector to share our knowledge of the Greater Bay Area cities to entice international business partners.” Leung suggested media organizations, research institutions, chambers of commerce and professional bodies set up permanent branches in the Greater Bay Area cities to have “eyes and ears, arms and legs and voices on the ground”. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu agreed. “Hong Kong and other Greater Bay Area cities continue to collaborate closely and complement one another to bring about enormous opportunities for our people, our businesses and our communities.” Lee added: “Hong Kong will leverage its highly market-oriented and internationalized business environment, its well-developed professional-services sectors, as well as the city’s status as an international financial, trade and shipping center” to develop the Greater Bay Area as a world-class city-cluster for living, traveling and working. “As the world’s freest economy and the largest offshore renminbi business center, Hong Kong is the ideal gateway to connect international investors with the mainland on the one hand and help channel mainland funds to the global market on the other,” Lee said. Maria Tam Wai-chu, deputy secretary-general of Hong Kong Coalition, said that the integration not only refers to infrastructural integration in transport and communication networks, “but also in our rules and regulation, administrative and professional practices and cooperation”. Tam said that Guangdong province has a complete chain of economic activities, but the services sector is comparatively less strong than the primary and secondary industries. “Here is where Hong Kong can play a vital role with our strong third-sector services and our links to the world markets,” she said. “This is a perfect combination to create an even more powerful economic growth engine.” In 2021, the total gross domestic product of the Greater Bay Area was about 12.6 trillion yuan ($1.77 trillion), and 25 of its corporations were in the top 500 globally. The city-cluster area has over 50 unicorns (startups with a value of over $1 billion) and over 1,000 incubators. It also boasts the majority of the over 60,000 high-technology companies in Guangdong. Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Group, said the Thursday conference invited some of the finest minds in the region to unravel the nuances embedded in the idea of the Greater Bay Area, and to find some well-thought-out responses to some questions. “Will Hong Kong be able to use its financial services and legal assistance facilities to boost trade ties between fellow Greater Bay Area member cities and their international partners? How effective is its role as a cultural bridge connecting the Greater Bay Area with the rest of the world going to be, and what does Hong Kong stand to gain in the process?” Qu asked. In addition to inviting business leaders, think tanks, academics, and media professionals, the roundtable also invited local consuls general. One of them was Almas Seitakynov, the Kazakhstan consul general for Hong Kong and Macao. “The Greater Bay Area is to develop human resources and high technology. I think this is a good opportunity for other countries to develop together. For example, a lot of companies from Kazakhstan open their offices in the Greater Bay Area and have very successful development,” he said on the sidelines of the conference in an interview with China Daily. In addition to the roundtable conference on how various stakeholders can forge ahead with the Greater Bay Area blueprint, the Thursday event also featured the 25th anniversary of the China Daily Hong Kong Edition. “In 25 years, China Daily has extended its reach and beyond the country, and has at the same time enhanced its international following and influence,” Leung said. “It is now a major, comprehensive and reliable source of information on the country’s latest developments.” Zhou Li, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Hong Kong, agreed. “We add an important new voice to the local media and play an ambassadorial role in helping China to forge stronger political and economic ties with other countries and step up social and cultural exchanges,” he said. “We also helped unpack the idea of ‘one country, two systems’, and articulate its ambitions,” Zhou added.

With the implementation of the national strategy for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the 11-city cluster should leverage its unique advantages to embrace closer economic and financial interconnectivity, which is crucial to powering future growth. Experts and business leaders made the remarks on Thursday at a panel discussion at the Greater Bay Area Conference 2022 and the 25th Anniversary Ceremony of China Daily Hong Kong Edition. Anthony Neoh, chair of the Asian Academy of International Law, said in his keynote address that the Greater Bay Area boasts various growth drivers, such as an expanding population and a leading financial ecosystem. “If you look at the GBA itself, it consists of 70 million people at the moment, and in the next 15 years, it will grow to 100 million people,” said Neoh. “That kind of energy produced by people would be very, very important, and it promises a great deal of future.” The area also has two of the largest stock markets in the world by liquidity, namely those of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Neoh said, adding that the GBA is “a world of contrasts”, where three systems and three currencies exist — in the Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Guangdong province. The regional economy is so important and strong that Hong Kong cannot be alone, said KC Chan, chairman of WeLab Bank. Together with other parts of the GBA, Hong Kong should tap into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ growing digital economy, propelled by their “attractive” demographic and technological base, he said. “Hong Kong must be a connector and facilitator, not just a marketplace to serve a local customer base,” Chan said. He believes the city does need to do more in terms of developing the financial markets and technology sector, including bringing in talent and attracting companies. On the same panel, Cui Li, chief economist, managing director and head of macro research of China Construction Bank International, said the GBA can “play a big role” in terms of international risk sharing. Citing the first insurance securities which were issued in Hong Kong last year for international investors, she said such a kind of risk-sharing platform in the region will be an important and promising area to work on. Carson Wen, chairman of BOA International Financial Group, suggested the central government consider moving the border for Hong Kong’s quarantine system to the GBA, so that people in the region could enjoy easy movement. “Unless people can move around easily, there is no way for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to work closely together,” Wen said. Xiao Geng, director of the Institute of Policy and Practice, Shenzhen Institute of Finance, noted that the development of the GBA presents a challenge which must be addressed: that of integrating Hong Kong’s offshore market and the Chinese mainland’s onshore market without changing the fundamental nature of the “one country, two systems” principle. One way to tackle this challenge, according to Xiao, would be to establish a “special economic zone” between Hong Kong and mainland cities in the GBA, where offshore companies can be regulated by Hong Kong, but have an operating center in places like Qianhai or Nansha. “Basically, we could maintain ‘one country, two systems’, and maintain the onshore-offshore difference. But at the corporate level, we could have some exceptions to allow those leading corporations to achieve much much better internal allocation and also a free cross-border movement of their people, their money and their information,” said Xiao. “That is really a win-win solution.”

Through deepened integration, Hong Kong has the potential to play a role in innovation and technology in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, forum attendees heard on Thursday. “The Hong Kong government has invested more than HK$150 billion (US$19.1 billion) in innovation and technology. This is, to me, a golden age for the I&T of Hong Kong,” said Sunny Chai, chairman of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp. The GBA comprises nine cities in Guangdong province plus the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. It has a total population of more than 86 million with a combined GDP of nearly US$1.67 trillion. As an integral part of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong will have a role to play, said Chai, speaking at a panel session on the key roles played by innovation and technology in Hong Kong at the Greater Bay Area Conference. Co-organized by China Daily and the Hong Kong Coalition, the event was held under the theme “GBA: Integration Writes a New Chapter”. A ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of China Daily Hong Kong Edition was also held during the conference. Recalling the visit by President Xi Jinping to the Hong Kong Science Park on June 30, Chai said, quoting Xi’s speech, that Hong Kong has a good foundation and potential for innovation and technology. Today, the science park has more than 1,100 tech companies, Chai said. About 18,000 people work in the park, with 11,000 of them focusing on research and development. That number comprises one-fifth to one-fourth of the total R&D workforce in Hong Kong. Duncan Chiu, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council for the Technology and Innovation Constituency, said 80 percent of the city’s unicorns, or startups with a valuation of over US$1 billion, grow their business in the Chinese mainland market, which makes it important to allow easier access for Hong Kong companies to enter the mainland market while attracting more global talent. Noting that only about 40 percent of unicorns are formed by people from universities to commercialize their research, Chiu said there is also a need to improve the ratio, and Hong Kong can achieve that since the city’s development has been emphasized in the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). “We have to focus on a certain particular vertical that Hong Kong has the edge that we can provide winning solutions, we can provide companies so they can build successful startups,” said Chiu, adding that more farsighted policies and long-term investment are needed. Chiu said the four areas of focuses are fintech, life science and health-related tech, advanced manufacturing, and data economy. Stressing the importance of integration, Raymond Yip, chief liaison officer of the Guangzhou Nansha Service Centre in Hong Kong, said it is time to look at the concept of “Hong Kong plus”. “Hong Kong has to find the resources in terms of area, talent and also many other opportunities and markets,” Yip said. Under a “Hong Kong plus” model, all the resources and market in the Greater Bay Area can be put together, which will be much bigger, Yip said. “We should have a cross-border integration in all fronts,” he said. Yip said the Nansha district also has huge strength in innovation and technology as it is the third-largest shipbuilding center in China and is home to one of the largest and first fully automated port in southern China. Tsui Lap-Chee, founding member and president of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, moderated the session. Attending the conference on-site, Igor Sagitov, consul general of the Russian Federation in Hong Kong and Macao, said technology is a good topic for the development of Hong Kong and for it to get a new advantage as a city and a part of the Greater Bay Area. “There are many new ideas (regarding) how to develop science and technology here in the city, and I hope that scientists and students and professors will implement all these ideas, and in the near future, Hong Kong can become a real advanced technological center in the Greater Bay Area,” Sagitov said. Noting innovation and technology are one of the most important driving engines behind Israel’s economic success, Amir Lati, consul general of Israel in Hong Kong, said there is also an area for his country to cooperate with Hong Kong. Lati said Israel and the Chinese mainland have already formed a joint innovation committee and it can cooperate with Hong Kong as well in various fields, such as fintech and healthcare.

HONG KONG – China Daily and Hong Kong Coalition co-organized the Greater Bay Area Conference 2022 on Thursday celebrating the 25th Anniversary Ceremony of China Daily Hong Kong Edition. Under the theme “GBA: Integration Writes a New Chapter”, the event drew together industry heavyweights to share their insights on the how Greater Bay Area marks a milestone in promoting mutual access and how the cities leverage its strengths to promote the development of regional links. Being held at Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, the conference brought together C-level senior executives from Fortune Global 500 and China 500 companies, think tanks, academics, media and experts from the public and private sectors across Asia.

Words from Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily This year has been particularly auspicious for all of us. It's a triple momentous occasion. As China Daily Hong Kong Edition celebrates its 25th birthday, we are also commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, as well as the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. We have been a proud partner with Hong Kong in its spectacular growth and development in the past two-and-a-half decades since CDHK was launched in the city - the first such edition to be published outside the Chinese mainland - in conjunction with Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 1997. The SAR's spectacular economic performance and growth have been the result of it playing a unique and vital role as the window and gateway to the mainland to link up with the rest of the world. This has been made possible by the tireless efforts of Hong Kong's entire community and its people's resolve to lead a better life and secure a brighter future. For 25 years, China Daily's Hong Kong outpost has been a trusted source of news and views from the Hong Kong SAR. Taking full advantage of its strategic location, the Hong Kong edition has performed the all-important task of interpreting China for an international audience with diligence and clarity for 25 years. My heartfelt kudos to colleagues whose tireless efforts over the years have turned CDHK into a respectable and sought-after news source and a force to reckon with in the region's media. I am confident that the success story of CDHK will continue and can only get better from here. We consider it a great privilege to be in Hong Kong, the region's premier financial and information center, to bear witness and chronicle the unfolding drama in the city. Happy birthday!