For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE China Daily Gathers IP Creators to Discuss the Opportunities for Gaming IP in the Era of Cultural and Creative Industries Dec 5, 2019, HK: Co-organized by China Daily and Business of IP Asia Forum, a panel discussion session, themed “New Era of Cultural and Creative Industries: Opportunities for Gaming IP” will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday, Dec 5, 2019. It attracted more than 150 entrepreneurs, IP creators and corporate decision makers. By the end of 2019, the worth of global gaming market is estimated to reach $152.1 billion, with 45 percent ($68.5 billion) coming from mobile gaming. The Asia-Pacific region remains the largest gaming market, accounting for a total of $72.2 billion in revenue. With the exponential growth of mobile gaming, users are actively creating their own services and entertainment experience. Connections between creative and cultural sectors are strengthening, and therefore global gaming IP trading is on the rise. The panel had four influential investors and experts. They are Mr. Hendrick Sin, Co-founder & Vice Chairman, CMGE Technology Group Limited; Mr. Xu Yiran Alex, Chairman and CEO, Leyou Technologies Holdings Limited; Mr. Kevin Lee Ka Tsun, Founder & CEO, Redspots Creative; and Mr. Darang Candra, Head of Esports Research, Niko Partners. They shared their views on the factors driving changes in the mobile gaming industry in this new era of cultural and creative industries. They also examined whether the global gaming industry is set to rise further in value and growth. Mr. Sin said IPs usually come from two channels. The first one is working with IP owners globally such as Disney on a game-by-game basis. The second one is actively investing IP startups, such as TV dramas and animations. Game companies can work with IP startups on games when IP startups are incubated. Mr. Xu said online games not only count on IPs, but also help and provide value for IPs. They create a channel for IP holders to widely reach their audience and fans base. Online games also give an opportunity for all the fans to build up social relationship. Mr. Lee said cultural and creative industry is a big one. What his company trying to do is using their solutions to create committed animation contents. After that, they can cooperate with the game companies and partners to develop animation contents. That’s where money is making. Mr. Candra said in a long period in the future, we should try to get IP supports for cloud games which are likely to be a big thing in Asia in the future. We should also try to get more supports for e-Sports. When we are developing or creating an IP, we should try to cooperate more with non-invented brands. About China Daily Founded in 1981, China Daily covers 220 million readers and users worldwide through diversified platforms, including newspapers, websites, and mobiles and social media. The number of China Daily’s followers had now reached 46.5 million on Weibo, 7 million on the WeChat Blog platform, 82 million on Facebook and another 4.3 million on Twitter. About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia.
2019-12-05新闻稿 即时发布 中国日报汇聚创投菁英 聚焦早期及天使投资新模式 2019年 11 月5 日,中国日报与香港数码港合办题为“透视今昔:早期及天使投资新模式”的专题研讨会,超过300名创业者、天使投资者和风险投资者等嘉宾参会。 该专题研讨会在“数码港创业投资论坛”期间举办,香港特别行政区创新及科技局局长杨伟雄、数码港主席林家礼和数码港行政总裁任景信等一同主持论坛开幕礼。 本次专题研讨会的演讲嘉宾包括数字交易有限公司先进技术商务总监胡喬先生、Kewpie Associates专业天使投资者約翰安森先生 (John Ason)、浩观科控资本管理合伙人人馬衡先生和Spark Ventures 创办人及董事总经理羅啟銘先生。 胡乔强调,市场的整体心态已经发生变化,很多投资者都会就正在投资的项目做更多更深层次的自我反省。尽职调查不能仅停留于社会认同,只关心别人正在做什么。他指出公司正尝试了解科技本身,以达至严于律己。 约翰安森指出,这个市场里的参与者才能不断带来新的天使投资以及风险投资。所以初创企业需要做的是,不断建立社交联系、分享想法,以及学会和其他人合作共赢。 马衡表示,初创企业应该多与客户交流,了解市场需求,帮助客户和其他企业去解决问题。从风投角度来看,投资初创企业等于帮客户建跑道,从满足客户需求的角度出发,从而带来盈收。 罗启铭说,过去几年,香港初创企业的生态有很大改变,不同的投资者和机构都参与其中,而香港特区政府亦投放几百亿资金来支持创新和科技界,透过与数码港这样国际级的孵化器合作,为初创企业提供资源,并帮助他们扩展业务。 关于中国日报 中国日报是中国国家英文日报,创刊于1981年,拥有报纸、网站、移动用户端、脸谱、推特、微博、微信、电子报等十余种媒介平台,全媒体用户总数超过2亿。截至2019年9月,中国日报微博粉丝数超过4650万;微信订阅人数640万,用户端全球下载用户超过2200万,是我国唯一下载量过千万的英文新闻用户端;脸谱帐号粉丝数超过8000万,位居全球媒体帐号粉丝数第二位;推特帐号粉丝数430万。 关于中国日报亚洲领袖圆桌论坛 亚洲领袖圆桌论坛(www.cdroundtable.com),旨在搭建一个由亚洲国家和地区的政、商、学界领袖和社会精英参与的高端对话和交流平台,围绕亚洲地区经济、商业、产业和社会发展等具有战略影响的重要议题展开讨论和分享见解,以增进中国与亚洲和西方国家的交流和理解。
2019-11-05Hong Kong’s strong foundation as an innovation and foreign investment center worldwide has remained intact, backed by a string of factors, including the city’s status of a global financial and business hub, according to professional angel investor John Ason. He cited the city’s rule of law, its history and people with rich cultures distinctive from other regions around the world, which provide investors with greater accessibility that could not be replicated elsewhere. Talking to China Daily on the sidelines of the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Ason said he sees the ongoing social unrest having just a short-term negative impact on the local tourism and other businesses. In the long term, he believes the central government and the HKSAR government could come out with good resolutions to end the unrest. Boosted by prospects created by the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area development, Ason, who has more than two decades’ experience in angel investing, said tremendous opportunities have emerged in the region for startups and investors alike. “The advantage you have is the enormous 70-million population who are potential customers within walking distance,” he noted, adding this is what other countries and regions with smaller populations are dying for. Another key major advantage of the Bay Area is Hong Kong’s essential role as a global financial hub where international business is booming, he said. Ason said he’s now looking at startups’ portfolios in Hong Kong in search of the next pre-revenue company with potentials. Ason shared his investment philosophy before joining the roundtable panel discussion themed “Then and Now: The New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment”, co-organized by China Daily and Cyberport. Unlike most investors nowadays who look mainly at the revenues of early-stage companies, Ason specializes in investing in pre-revenue companies with few customers. His job is to help those startups focus on a customer segment to generate revenue and grow as a mentor. In the past 20 years, Ason has made more than 90 eclectic investments in the fields of e-commerce, technology, advertising, digital social media and entertainment. His 90 companies boast of 21 female founders and 14 international enterprises with 30 currently active firms. “As an investor, I want to invest in regions with a rule of law and history that we’re comfortable with instead of countries with laws that I can’t understand,” Ason, said, speaking from an angel investor’s perspective. He also stressed the value of people, which is one of the criteria he would be looking at in investments. Ason said Hong Kong’s young people do have the entrepreneurship spirit as the city has a thriving startup culture. Angel investment — an investment plowed into new or small business ventures for expansion — has gone through earth-shaking changes with the rapid development of the internet and digitalization. Ason recalled that when he started angel investing 22 years ago, his crew had to buy a computer server, a computer with a high cost. However, information technology has since lifted efficiency and lowered costs, and the speed of developing companies has also become dramatically faster. “The founders and entrepreneurs tell me what the trends are and what the future holds. I follow them,” Ason said. “It’s the people, sharing ideas and working together that bring in other angel investments and venture capital,” he explained.
2019-11-05Early-stage investors in Hong Kong have become more conservative, considering the city’s current dire conditions and the ongoing Sino-US trade spat, says an industry insider. Many Hong Kong-based venture capital (VC) funds now prefer to wait and see, Vincent Law — founder and managing director of Spark Ventures — told China Daily after participating in a panel discussion entitled “Then and Now, The New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment” at the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. “They may not be willing to take the lead in some deals in Hong Kong, as they have no idea when the unrest will end. So, being conservative is better than losing money for them,” he said. At the same time, some investors seeking safety from risks are likely to turn to the Chinese mainland or overseas to source deals instead of just focusing on Hong Kong. When the market is more conservative, relatively, the valuation of startups in Hong Kong drops. Many startups are now concerned about whether they can raise the funds, Law noted. “There may be a discount in the amount of money they could raise,” he said. But, startups have to accept the result because if they don’t get the money, they may not be able to survive. As an investor, Law said he prefers startups that are capable of moving out of the region to those that stick to a single market. “If a company just depends on a single region market, there’re risks there. And you can see it right now,” he explained. “In fact, it’s something that entrepreneurs need to sort out even before they start the business.” Law believed that founders of startups need to have a long-term plan for their companies, such as how to enter a market. He loves spending hours talking to founders before deciding on making an investment. “I need to know the reason they’re starting a business, especially for early-stage venture investment, because they have no performance and there’re no figures. Sometimes, in a seed round or angel round, it really depends on the people.” In his view, good people with a not really good business model can still continue to improve on it and make it better. For people who’re not that promising, but can provide a very good business model, their business is likely to end up in failure. Law will keep asking startup founders see whether they’re familiar with the things they’re doing. At the same time, he has to constantly ask himself during the process if this is “a good timing to support a good deal with a good price”. As a third-generation member of the family fund, Law used to invest in real estate. To learn more about the new economy, he jumped into venture investment to focus more on businesses that use technology to solve problems. Compared with traditional VC funds, he believed family funds have more flexibility with using the capital as he could manage his own family money rather than raising money from other shareholders. According to Law, Spark Venture normally makes two or three deals a year.
2019-11-05For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE China Daily Gathers Investors to Discuss the New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment Nov 5, 2019, HK: Co-organized by China Daily and Cyberport Venture Capital Forum, a panel discussion session, themed “Then and Now: The New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment” was held at the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum on Tuesday, Nov 5, 2019. It attracted more than 300 venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and super angels. According to the statistic collected from June to September, the startup ecosystem of Hong Kong has skyrocketed in recent years. The total number of start-up increased from 2,625 to 3,184 from 2018 to 2019. The number of staff employed in start-ups increased from 9,548 to 12,478 from 2018 to 2019. However, in recent years, larger venture capital firms are becoming less active in funding start-ups and channelling their investments towards later-stage venture. This is giving rise to more angel investments and investor syndicates for seed and early stage. Furthermore, accredited investing portals have emerged to create connections between entrepreneurs and angels, bringing additional fluidity and ease to this market. The panel had four influential investors and experts. They are Mr. John ASON, Professional Angel Investor, Kewpie Associates; Mr. Anthony WOO, Vice-president of Product Strategy of Digital Transaction Limited; Mr. Vincent LAW, Founder and Managing Director, Spark Ventures; and Mr. Theodore MA, Managing Partner, CoCoon Ignite Ventures. They shared their views on the shift in the characteristics and examine the new formula of early stage and angel investments. Mr. Ason said that it’s the people that brings in other angels and other likely venture capitals. He advised entrepreneurs to look for the networking, show their ideas and work with other people. Mr. Woo pointed out that the general mentality is changing today in the sense that plenty of investors are doing more soul searching and reflection to deeply understand what they are investing in. He said that the due diligence should not only be based on social evidence - what other people are doing. For his company, they are trying to be more disciplined in the sense that they really try to understand tech itself. Mr. Law said that the local startup scene has changed a lot in the past few years as more and more new investors are joining the game, be it local venture capitals, corporate venture capitals, venture funds set up by family offices or funding schemes launched by the Hong Kong government and world-class incubators like Cyberport. Mr. Ma said that startup is really solving problems. He advised entrepreneurs should go out and talk to people in order to understand the needs in the market. From a venture capital’s point of view, they are investing companies to essentially give them more runways. Investment money isn’t the money that entrepreneurs make. Instead, entrepreneurs should get money from customers and customers are only willing to pay if they understand the companies are actually solving the problems. About China Daily Founded in 1981, China Daily covers 200 million readers and users worldwide through diversified platforms, including newspapers, websites, and mobiles and social media. The number of China Daily’s followers had now reached 46.5 million on Weibo, 5.8 million on the WeChat Blog platform, and another 80 million on Facebook. About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia.
2019-11-05In the buzzing world of startups, only focused and down-to-earth problem solvers could survive the stiff competition and attract venture capital to help them get off the ground, a China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable forum heard on Tuesday. Getting money for startups could be a daunting task years ago, especially in Hong Kong, because traditional VC firms were more interested in putting money into startups in the relatively late stages of their lifecycle in exchange for more secure returns, said Vincent Law, founder and managing director of Spark Ventures. “In the past few years, however, the local startup scene has changed a lot as more and more new investors are joining the game, be it local VCs, corporate VCs, venture funds set up by family offices or funding schemes launched by the Hong Kong government and world-class incubators like Cyberport,” Law told the a panel discussion themed “Then and Now: The New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment”, held as part of the two-day Cyberport Venture Capital Forum in Hong Kong. Billed as Cyberport’s annual premier venture forum and the region’s signature venture conference, the forum kicked off, shedding light on the game-changing world of tech venturing. More importantly, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a national policy to replicate the success of other city clusters to promote the emergence of a regional powerhouse, spells potentially huge opportunities for Hong Kong startups with the foresight to jump on the bandwagon, Law said. The grand plan, which reinforces the theme of regional cooperation and integration, highlights a broader market to bolster the broader vision of startups in Hong Kong, he said. “If local startups heading north for greener pastures could expand their businesses across the region, it’s a perfect stepping stone for them to go global and get more funds.” In the second quarter of 2019, VC-backed companies raised $52.7 billion with 3,855 deals, according to data from KPMG. The role that venture capital has played in the startup scene can never be underestimated. “Startup is really about solving problems,” said Theodore Ma, managing partner at CoCoon Ignite Ventures. “From a VC’s point of view, we’re investing companies to essentially give them more runway. Investment money isn’t the money that you make. Instead, you should get money from customers and customers are only willing to pay if they understand you are actually solving the problems.” Ma said this points to a shift of focus among the investment community. Previously, VCs just looked at hundreds of companies and picked one with the most impressive statistics. “Today, we’re actively going out there to find those companies that know exactly what they are trying to solve,” Ma noted. “Those companies are not just out there raising money like anyone else, because they’ve got valuation. They are raising money because they truly understand specific industry-related problems and know how much one may need to become profitable.” Anthony Woo, vice-president of product strategy of Digital Transaction Ltd, agreed. He believed the overall investment community is shifting from an overly excessive focus on matrix and statistics. “The general overall mentality is changing today in the sense that plenty of investors are doing soul searching and reflection to deeply understand what they’re investing in,” he said. As the next big things like big data, artificial intelligence and 5G stand as the highly sought-after investment themes on everyone’s lip, investors nowadays have a lot of homework to do to deeply understand what they are investing in, he said. “Looking for the network, showing your ideas and working with other people — this is the winning formula I can offer for entrepreneurs,” said John Ason, professional angel investor of Kewpie Associates. “We’re obsessed with failure and we’re obsessed with success. But both of them are just a snapshot in journey. There are companies out there that have failed multiple times. There’re also companies that were runaway successes but have disappeared nowadays,” said Ma. “More focus should be put on the journey, rather than the snapshots,” he stressed.
2019-11-05The Cyberport Venture Capital Forum — one of the landmark tech investment events in Hong Kong’s iconic technology park — has further fueled corporate venture funding, with up to HK$360 million in funds secured for its startups. The forum unveiled a series of outstanding achievements of the Cyberport Investors Network (CIN) — its flagship fundraising project for tech startups. The accomplishments included a total of HK$360 million ($46 million) of funds raised — a huge amount of incoming incentives for Cyberport’s startups. Titled “New Frontier of Tech Venturing”, the first day of the event was packed with a plethora of illuminating keynotes and panel discussions and uncovered the latest trends in the tech venture capital market. Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung, secretary for innovation and technology of the Hong Kong SAR; George Lam, chairman of Cyberport; Peter Yan, CEO of Cyberport; Duncan Chiu, chairman of Steering Group of the CIN; and new Chairperson Cindy Chow were among those who officiated the forum’s opening ceremony on Tuesday. Lam expressed confidence in Hong Kong’s venture capital market, believing that the rapid development of technology and digital transformation in Asia have not slowed down despite the impact brought on by the macro environment. He said the Cyberport Macro Fund has invested HK$106 million in 14 startups so far, and has brought nearly HK$500 million in co-investments since its launch, bringing total investments in startups to more than HK$600 million, exemplifying the strength and potential of local startups. “Facing the challenges ahead, I believe Hong Kong’s development in innovation and technology will continue to march forward while seizing new opportunities arising from the Bay Area,” Lam said. Lam’s remarks echoed those of Chiu, who said: “Beyond the heartening progress we’ve made in investments, this year, we’ve been successful in bringing in more investors from the Bay Area. We believe this will stimulate deal flow and help our local startups tapping into the Bay Area market, while promoting synergy and development within the region’s technology ecosystem.” One of the forum’s focuses is on corporate venture, and an impressive lineup, including representatives from C capital, CLP Holdings, PM Equity Partner and China Resources Capital, was assembled to impart insight on their partnerships with private and institutional investors to create value for their own businesses. The two-day event featured more than 40 leading industry leaders, investors and tech startups, as well as rising stars from the Cyberport community.
2019-11-05Cooperation and collaboration are needed to further promote the tourism industry and enhance ties, said speakers at a forum in Macao. Currently, Argentina and Brazil are working on mutual acceptance for a Chinese tourist visa that will allow Chinese travelers to visit both countries, said Argentinian Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos, adding that the talks on this measure can be extended to other countries in South America. Argentina signed an agreement on Oct 14 on mutual visa-exemption with Macao, which allows travelers from Macao to enter Argentina for up to 30 days without the need for a visa. The measure will be effective from mid-November. “We have built trust (with China) … and this trust will create friendship,” said Santos, noting his country can also help China fulfill its aspiration to develop soccer. Santos was speaking at the 8th Global Tourism Economy Forum held in Macao on Oct 13-15. This year marks the 47th and 45th anniversaries of China’s diplomatic ties with Argentina and Brazil, respectively. The two South American countries were featured as partner countries of this year’s GTEF. “Brazil is going through an important process now … and (the country) highlights its closeness to China,” said Brazilian Tourism Minister Marcelo Alvaro Antonio, adding Chinese investment in the tourism sector is welcome as he hoped to see closer bilateral cooperation through tourism. “China can become our biggest partner in tourism … we want to transform our partnership, not just in the economic area but also in the tourism area,” said Antonio, adding that Brazil is also working to allow the issuance of electronic visas for Chinese tourists, in order to facilitate exchange between the two countries. Hosted by Macao’s Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture in cooperation with the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the forum brought together government officials, industry leaders and academic experts from around the world to share their insights under the theme “Tourism and Leisure: Roadmap to a Beautiful Life”. Santos said tourism provides great opportunities for the world, particularly in job creation. About 10 percent of the world’s workforce is associated with tourism, according to the UNWTO. Noting that tourism is about healthy lifestyles and the well-being of society, Zurab Pololikashvili, the UNWTO’s secretary-general, said cooperation and experience-sharing are needed for stronger growth. He encouraged active participation from the private sector, including cooperating with the public sector to jointly keep pace with the fast-growing industry. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region. Former Macao chief executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah, who is now vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the GTEF, said the unveiling of the ‘Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’ early this year gives Macao new missions to achieve at this significant moment in history. The Greater Bay Area covers nine cities in Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao SARs.
2019-10-21Riding high on the rapid development of the Bay Area, Macao is diversifying tourism and seeking areas with growth potential, said Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office. “Having the (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater) Bay Area as a conjunction of different attractions will help to create more synergies and also bring in tourists from areas that Macao on its own cannot tap into,” she told China Daily on the sidelines of the eighth Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao on Tuesday. About 40 million tourists arrivals to Macao are expected this year, according to Senna Fernandes. The Bay Area development plan, unveiled in February, will lure more people to visit Macao while encouraging the exchange of ideas in the region. However, there are still major challenges facing Macao, noted Senna Fernandes. With a total land area of about 32 square kilometers, the number of attractions Macao can create and the city’s ability to accommodate visitors are limited, she explained. It is also difficult for the city to encourage long-haul flights to Macao given its small market size. To tackle these drawbacks, Macao is working to improve its tourist products, noted Senna Fernandes. The city also plans to host a variety of activities that appeal to people with different tastes and lifestyles. “The product development side will always feature heavily on Macao itself and we are now working with different entities to develop tourism products in various areas of Macao,” Senna Fernandes said. In addition, Macao hopes to attract more visitors to connect their flights in the city with strong support from the Bay Area development plan, she said. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, elaborates on ways for the gambling mecca to develop itself into a well-rounded tourism hub. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY) Backed by Bay Area Since April, the Macao SAR government has presented its half-year-long international art and cultural event Art Macao. This coincides with celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao SAR. The art festival features the Macao Orchestra and the Macao Chinese Orchestra concerts, Macao Cultural Centre signature programs, international youth festivals and visual arts exhibitions at higher education institutions. For the long-term, sustainable development of Macao as a travel destination, Senna Fernandes said, it would continue to serve as a tourism training base for the Bay Area. This is the eighth year Macao has held the Global Tourism Economy Forum. This provides a platform for different countries and regions to exchange ideas and insights on tourism development, while also boosting sustainable tourism, she said. A forum reinventing itself As vice-chairman of GTEF, Senna Fernandes said the annual forum was progressing by introducing new elements each year. For instance, the forum set up exhibition sites a few years ago designated for people in the industry to exchange ideas and ink agreements. This year, the forum set up the first World Tourism Investment and Financing Conference, which gathered leading international investment experts and tourism leaders. They shared their insights on investment and inspired delegates to explore new opportunities in tourism markets involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and across the Bay Area. “Every year, the forum aims to improve itself and try to continuously serve as a very good base for the exchange of ideas while at the same time doing solid business,” Senna Fernandes said. She added that these insights are the most valuable outcome of the forum. Industrial experts and leaders offer practical ideas on how to improve tourism. As Macao celebrates the 20th anniversary of its return to the motherland this year, the SAR government has planned a series of celebratory tourism events. Coincidentally, it is also the year of the 30th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest, which took place throughout the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holidays. “We branded it as a dual celebration of the anniversaries of Macao returning to the motherland and for the fireworks contest,” said Senna Fernandes. People in Macao and Zhuhai’s Hengqin New Area will be treated to firework shows on Dec 20. “It’s the first time for us to launch a fireworks display together with Hengqin; we hope that it will be a very glamorous evening for everybody,” added Senna Fernandes.
2019-10-16For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE Greater Bay Area Tourism Development: An Integrated Approach for Well-being OCT 15, 2019, MACAO : Co-organized by China Daily and the Global Tourism Economy Forum, the Special Interview session, themed “Greater Bay Area Tourism Development: An Integrated Approach for Well being” will be held in Macao on Tuesday, Oct 15, 2019. The conference attracted nearly 300 government officials, business leaders and academics. Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes , Director, Macao Government Tourism Office; Vice Chairman, Global Tourism Economy Forum , delivered the session keynote address. She pointed out the positioning of Macao in Greater Bay Area is to develop into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure and the Commercial and Trade Cooperation Service Platform between China and Portuguese speaking Countries, promote an appropriate level of diversified economic development, and develop into a base for exchange and cooperation where Chinese culture is the mainstream and diverse cultures coexist, and strengthen the role of Macao as One Centre, One Platform. She pointed out that a round 40 million tourists are expected to visit Macao this year, but rather than simply increasing the number of visitors, what Macao needs is how to change the types of tourists structurally. She said that in Aug 2017, the Macao SAR Government signed the “Framework Agreement of Strategic Cooperation on Smart City Development” with the Alibaba Group in order to better help tourists experience Macao . She highlighted the importance of smart tourism in developing Macao into Smart City. She said that since 2017, Macao Government Tourism Office has started to cooperate with Alibaba Cloud to develop smart tourism and has jointly developed three projects in 2019, including tourism information interchange platform , application for visitor insights, and Smart application for visitor flows. She hopes the experience of visitors before, during and after the journey can be enhanced through the various applications of smart travel. The Special Interview follows by the keynote address had three distinguished speakers to share their views on the tourism development of the Greater Bay Area. They are Mr. Daniel Fong, Director, Nam Kwong (Group) Company Ltd. and Chairman of Board, China Travel Service (Macao) Ltd.;Dr . Jia Jiaya , Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Distinguished Scientist and Director, Tencent Youtu Lab; and Mr. Peter Lv , Executive Director an d General Manager, Huafa Sports Operations Management Co., Ltd. Mr. Fong said tourists used to rely on the travel agencies when travelling since the internet was not well developed and many tourists knew little about the outside world. He pointed out that with drastic changes taken place in tourists’ demand, the number of people choosing free and independent travel increased greatly. In order to develop high quality tourism, the tourism industry needs to better serve the tourists by providing them with products that meet their demand. Dr . Jia said with the use of technology being improved in various industries, technology is poised to be a major driver for the tourism industry in the next five to ten years. For instance, powered by the artificial intelligence, smart recommendations for tourism sites and route planning will allow people of different background and ages to receive recommendations for travel based on their own interest. Mr. Lv said sports will play a more important role in promoting the development of the tourism industry. He takes marathon as an example. A round 1,500 marathon races were held in China in 2018, attracting more than 5 million people to attend. In Zhuhai, about 60-70 percent of participants of races held by Huafa Sports are not from the local area. He hopes his company will have the chance to hold a marathon race on the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge. About China Daily Founded in 1981, China Daily covers 200 million readers and users worldwide through diversified platforms, including newspapers, websites, and mobiles and social media. The number of China Daily’s followers had now reached 46.5 million on Weibo, 5.8 million on the WeChat Blog platform, and another 80 million on Facebook. About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia.
2019-10-15Riding high on the goals and undertakings of the high-profile Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area mega plan, Macao, with the “one country, two system” principle as its major advantage, is sparing no effort to consolidate its position as a tourist magnet. The city underscored this vision when the eighth session of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) kicked off in Macao on Monday. Hosted by Macao’s Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture, the two-day event is promoting international dialogue with the theme “Tourism and Leisure: Roadmap to a Beautiful Life” — a proactive response to “the China Dream” as outlined by President Xi Jinping, who stressed: “People’s yearning for a good and beautiful life is the goal for us to strive for.” This year, the event takes on a new significance as Macao celebrates its 20th anniversary of its return to the motherland. In his welcoming address, former Macao chief executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah, who is now vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the GTEF, said the event stands as a “once-in-a-lifetime chance” for Macao to be identified as one of the four core cities and core engines for driving development in the region, together with its counterparts Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, in the Greater Bay Area Outline Development Plan, which the State Council released in February. The principle of “one country, two systems” offers Macao, where East meets West, the best of both worlds. The principle enables the city to keep its way of life and freedom while tapping the opportunities and benefits arising from reuniting with the Chinese mainland, Macao Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on said. “For years, tourism has long been the pillar of Macao’s economy,” Chui said. Since the establishment of the Macao SAR government in 1999, the tourism industry has been on a tear in the territory. Visitor arrivals to Macao have quadrupled, and the number of hotel rooms has tripled, he said. Zurab Pololikashvili, who is in the second year of a four-year term as secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization, stressed the forum charts its course of making Macao “the next Davos” for visitors — a step closer to the promise made at last year’s event. This year, Argentina and Brazil are featured as the partnered countries of the event. Argentine Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos, who traveled thousands of kilometers from the other side of the world to Macao, said he believes tourism could go beyond the geographical distance and connect countries and regions together. “Argentina, Brazil and China are closer than ever before, as the three great nations share the same rhythm,” he said. Zhang Xu, vice-minister of culture and tourism, also lauded the continued potential of tourism in Macao. “As the growing rhetoric and mentality of protectionism today cast a shadow over the globe, the tourism industry, with its inherent spirit of openness and collaboration, has what it takes to be one of the most prominent growth engines for the global economy. It is high time for Macao to make a difference,” he said. The forum is billed as one of the leading annual events in the global tourism calendar and the single most representative non-governmental tourism platform in China. Since its inception in 2012, it has attracted more than 10,783 participants from 89 countries and regions, including delegations from 147 provinces and cities from the Chinese mainland, and invited 570 of the world’s most influential business leaders, decision-makers and academics to share their insights. In conjunction with this year’s GTEF, China Daily will host a panel discussion for the eighth consecutive year. The event will bring together distinguished academics, policymakers and industry heavyweights to share their insights on how a globally competitive cluster of metropolises in the making under the grand plan of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area could be turned into a world-class tourism destination and bring dramatic changes to the regional tourism market. The dialogue, titled “Greater Bay Area Tourism Development: An Integrated Approach for Well-Being”, will be held today in Macao.
2019-10-15新闻稿 即时发布 中国日报10月15日澳门电 今日中国日报第八度携手“世界旅游经济论坛”在澳门合办题为“粤港澳大湾区旅游发展:综合建设美好生活”的专题研讨会,吸引逾300名来自政商学界的高端人士参会。 澳门特别行政区政府旅游局局长文绮华出席活动并发表主旨演讲。文绮华强调,智慧旅游是将澳门发展成为智慧城市的一个切入点。澳门特区政府旅游局与阿里巴巴集团在2017年8月签署构建智慧城市战略合作框架协议,并于2019 合力开发三个资讯科技项目,包括旅游资讯交换平台、旅客洞察应用和智慧客流应用。她期望透过智慧旅游的软件,加强旅客的游览体验,并利用资讯技术对不同群体宣传不同主题的澳门旅游产品,进行精准营销。 南光(集团)有限公司董事、澳门中国旅行社股份有限公司董事长方立群指出,随着游客的需求发生巨大变化,自由行的人数显着上升,想要发展优质旅游,旅游业需要更好地服务旅客,提供符合旅客需求的产品。 香港中文大学计算机科学与工程学系终身教授、腾讯优图X-Lab 杰出科学家及实验室负责人贾佳亚说,随着各个行业的科技水平都在不断提高,科技在未来5至10年会对旅游有巨大推动作用。例如智能推荐和智能路线规划的功能,可以通过判断个人的兴趣爱好,来为不同群体、不同年龄层的游客推荐相应的景点,实现千人千面的旅游新方式。 华发体育运营管理有限公司执行董事兼总经理吕品德表示,他相信未来体育产品对旅游的拉动作用会越来越大,希望有机会在港珠澳大桥上举办马拉松比赛。他以马拉松赛事为例,2018年中国约举办1500场马拉松比赛,吸引超过500万人参与,而华发体育在珠海举办的马拉松比赛中,约有60%至70%的参与人士来自外地。 关于中国日报 中国日报是中国国家英文日报,创刊于1981年,拥有报纸、网站、移动客户端、脸谱、推特、微博、微信、电子报等十余种媒介平台,全媒体用户总数超过2亿。截至2019年9月,中国日报微博粉丝数超过4650万;微信订阅人数640万,客户端全球下载用户超过2200万,是我国唯一下载量过千万的英文新闻客户端;脸谱账号粉丝数超过8000万,位居全球媒体账号粉丝数第二位;推特账号粉丝数430万。 关于中国日报亚洲领袖圆桌论坛 亚洲领袖圆桌论坛(www.cdroundtable.com),旨在搭建一个由亚洲国家和地区的政、商、学界领袖和社会精英参与的高端对话和交流平台,围绕亚洲地区经济、商业、产业和社会发展等具有战略影响的重要议题展开讨论和分享见解,以增进中国与亚洲和西方国家的交流和理解。
2019-10-15For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE China Daily Gathers IP Creators to Discuss the Opportunities for Gaming IP in the Era of Cultural and Creative Industries Dec 5, 2019, HK: Co-organized by China Daily and Business of IP Asia Forum, a panel discussion session, themed “New Era of Cultural and Creative Industries: Opportunities for Gaming IP” will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday, Dec 5, 2019. It attracted more than 150 entrepreneurs, IP creators and corporate decision makers. By the end of 2019, the worth of global gaming market is estimated to reach $152.1 billion, with 45 percent ($68.5 billion) coming from mobile gaming. The Asia-Pacific region remains the largest gaming market, accounting for a total of $72.2 billion in revenue. With the exponential growth of mobile gaming, users are actively creating their own services and entertainment experience. Connections between creative and cultural sectors are strengthening, and therefore global gaming IP trading is on the rise. The panel had four influential investors and experts. They are Mr. Hendrick Sin, Co-founder & Vice Chairman, CMGE Technology Group Limited; Mr. Xu Yiran Alex, Chairman and CEO, Leyou Technologies Holdings Limited; Mr. Kevin Lee Ka Tsun, Founder & CEO, Redspots Creative; and Mr. Darang Candra, Head of Esports Research, Niko Partners. They shared their views on the factors driving changes in the mobile gaming industry in this new era of cultural and creative industries. They also examined whether the global gaming industry is set to rise further in value and growth. Mr. Sin said IPs usually come from two channels. The first one is working with IP owners globally such as Disney on a game-by-game basis. The second one is actively investing IP startups, such as TV dramas and animations. Game companies can work with IP startups on games when IP startups are incubated. Mr. Xu said online games not only count on IPs, but also help and provide value for IPs. They create a channel for IP holders to widely reach their audience and fans base. Online games also give an opportunity for all the fans to build up social relationship. Mr. Lee said cultural and creative industry is a big one. What his company trying to do is using their solutions to create committed animation contents. After that, they can cooperate with the game companies and partners to develop animation contents. That’s where money is making. Mr. Candra said in a long period in the future, we should try to get IP supports for cloud games which are likely to be a big thing in Asia in the future. We should also try to get more supports for e-Sports. When we are developing or creating an IP, we should try to cooperate more with non-invented brands. About China Daily Founded in 1981, China Daily covers 220 million readers and users worldwide through diversified platforms, including newspapers, websites, and mobiles and social media. The number of China Daily’s followers had now reached 46.5 million on Weibo, 7 million on the WeChat Blog platform, 82 million on Facebook and another 4.3 million on Twitter. About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia.
2019-12-05新闻稿 即时发布 中国日报汇聚创投菁英 聚焦早期及天使投资新模式 2019年 11 月5 日,中国日报与香港数码港合办题为“透视今昔:早期及天使投资新模式”的专题研讨会,超过300名创业者、天使投资者和风险投资者等嘉宾参会。 该专题研讨会在“数码港创业投资论坛”期间举办,香港特别行政区创新及科技局局长杨伟雄、数码港主席林家礼和数码港行政总裁任景信等一同主持论坛开幕礼。 本次专题研讨会的演讲嘉宾包括数字交易有限公司先进技术商务总监胡喬先生、Kewpie Associates专业天使投资者約翰安森先生 (John Ason)、浩观科控资本管理合伙人人馬衡先生和Spark Ventures 创办人及董事总经理羅啟銘先生。 胡乔强调,市场的整体心态已经发生变化,很多投资者都会就正在投资的项目做更多更深层次的自我反省。尽职调查不能仅停留于社会认同,只关心别人正在做什么。他指出公司正尝试了解科技本身,以达至严于律己。 约翰安森指出,这个市场里的参与者才能不断带来新的天使投资以及风险投资。所以初创企业需要做的是,不断建立社交联系、分享想法,以及学会和其他人合作共赢。 马衡表示,初创企业应该多与客户交流,了解市场需求,帮助客户和其他企业去解决问题。从风投角度来看,投资初创企业等于帮客户建跑道,从满足客户需求的角度出发,从而带来盈收。 罗启铭说,过去几年,香港初创企业的生态有很大改变,不同的投资者和机构都参与其中,而香港特区政府亦投放几百亿资金来支持创新和科技界,透过与数码港这样国际级的孵化器合作,为初创企业提供资源,并帮助他们扩展业务。 关于中国日报 中国日报是中国国家英文日报,创刊于1981年,拥有报纸、网站、移动用户端、脸谱、推特、微博、微信、电子报等十余种媒介平台,全媒体用户总数超过2亿。截至2019年9月,中国日报微博粉丝数超过4650万;微信订阅人数640万,用户端全球下载用户超过2200万,是我国唯一下载量过千万的英文新闻用户端;脸谱帐号粉丝数超过8000万,位居全球媒体帐号粉丝数第二位;推特帐号粉丝数430万。 关于中国日报亚洲领袖圆桌论坛 亚洲领袖圆桌论坛(www.cdroundtable.com),旨在搭建一个由亚洲国家和地区的政、商、学界领袖和社会精英参与的高端对话和交流平台,围绕亚洲地区经济、商业、产业和社会发展等具有战略影响的重要议题展开讨论和分享见解,以增进中国与亚洲和西方国家的交流和理解。
2019-11-05Hong Kong’s strong foundation as an innovation and foreign investment center worldwide has remained intact, backed by a string of factors, including the city’s status of a global financial and business hub, according to professional angel investor John Ason. He cited the city’s rule of law, its history and people with rich cultures distinctive from other regions around the world, which provide investors with greater accessibility that could not be replicated elsewhere. Talking to China Daily on the sidelines of the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Ason said he sees the ongoing social unrest having just a short-term negative impact on the local tourism and other businesses. In the long term, he believes the central government and the HKSAR government could come out with good resolutions to end the unrest. Boosted by prospects created by the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area development, Ason, who has more than two decades’ experience in angel investing, said tremendous opportunities have emerged in the region for startups and investors alike. “The advantage you have is the enormous 70-million population who are potential customers within walking distance,” he noted, adding this is what other countries and regions with smaller populations are dying for. Another key major advantage of the Bay Area is Hong Kong’s essential role as a global financial hub where international business is booming, he said. Ason said he’s now looking at startups’ portfolios in Hong Kong in search of the next pre-revenue company with potentials. Ason shared his investment philosophy before joining the roundtable panel discussion themed “Then and Now: The New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment”, co-organized by China Daily and Cyberport. Unlike most investors nowadays who look mainly at the revenues of early-stage companies, Ason specializes in investing in pre-revenue companies with few customers. His job is to help those startups focus on a customer segment to generate revenue and grow as a mentor. In the past 20 years, Ason has made more than 90 eclectic investments in the fields of e-commerce, technology, advertising, digital social media and entertainment. His 90 companies boast of 21 female founders and 14 international enterprises with 30 currently active firms. “As an investor, I want to invest in regions with a rule of law and history that we’re comfortable with instead of countries with laws that I can’t understand,” Ason, said, speaking from an angel investor’s perspective. He also stressed the value of people, which is one of the criteria he would be looking at in investments. Ason said Hong Kong’s young people do have the entrepreneurship spirit as the city has a thriving startup culture. Angel investment — an investment plowed into new or small business ventures for expansion — has gone through earth-shaking changes with the rapid development of the internet and digitalization. Ason recalled that when he started angel investing 22 years ago, his crew had to buy a computer server, a computer with a high cost. However, information technology has since lifted efficiency and lowered costs, and the speed of developing companies has also become dramatically faster. “The founders and entrepreneurs tell me what the trends are and what the future holds. I follow them,” Ason said. “It’s the people, sharing ideas and working together that bring in other angel investments and venture capital,” he explained.
2019-11-05Early-stage investors in Hong Kong have become more conservative, considering the city’s current dire conditions and the ongoing Sino-US trade spat, says an industry insider. Many Hong Kong-based venture capital (VC) funds now prefer to wait and see, Vincent Law — founder and managing director of Spark Ventures — told China Daily after participating in a panel discussion entitled “Then and Now, The New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment” at the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. “They may not be willing to take the lead in some deals in Hong Kong, as they have no idea when the unrest will end. So, being conservative is better than losing money for them,” he said. At the same time, some investors seeking safety from risks are likely to turn to the Chinese mainland or overseas to source deals instead of just focusing on Hong Kong. When the market is more conservative, relatively, the valuation of startups in Hong Kong drops. Many startups are now concerned about whether they can raise the funds, Law noted. “There may be a discount in the amount of money they could raise,” he said. But, startups have to accept the result because if they don’t get the money, they may not be able to survive. As an investor, Law said he prefers startups that are capable of moving out of the region to those that stick to a single market. “If a company just depends on a single region market, there’re risks there. And you can see it right now,” he explained. “In fact, it’s something that entrepreneurs need to sort out even before they start the business.” Law believed that founders of startups need to have a long-term plan for their companies, such as how to enter a market. He loves spending hours talking to founders before deciding on making an investment. “I need to know the reason they’re starting a business, especially for early-stage venture investment, because they have no performance and there’re no figures. Sometimes, in a seed round or angel round, it really depends on the people.” In his view, good people with a not really good business model can still continue to improve on it and make it better. For people who’re not that promising, but can provide a very good business model, their business is likely to end up in failure. Law will keep asking startup founders see whether they’re familiar with the things they’re doing. At the same time, he has to constantly ask himself during the process if this is “a good timing to support a good deal with a good price”. As a third-generation member of the family fund, Law used to invest in real estate. To learn more about the new economy, he jumped into venture investment to focus more on businesses that use technology to solve problems. Compared with traditional VC funds, he believed family funds have more flexibility with using the capital as he could manage his own family money rather than raising money from other shareholders. According to Law, Spark Venture normally makes two or three deals a year.
2019-11-05For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE China Daily Gathers Investors to Discuss the New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment Nov 5, 2019, HK: Co-organized by China Daily and Cyberport Venture Capital Forum, a panel discussion session, themed “Then and Now: The New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment” was held at the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum on Tuesday, Nov 5, 2019. It attracted more than 300 venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and super angels. According to the statistic collected from June to September, the startup ecosystem of Hong Kong has skyrocketed in recent years. The total number of start-up increased from 2,625 to 3,184 from 2018 to 2019. The number of staff employed in start-ups increased from 9,548 to 12,478 from 2018 to 2019. However, in recent years, larger venture capital firms are becoming less active in funding start-ups and channelling their investments towards later-stage venture. This is giving rise to more angel investments and investor syndicates for seed and early stage. Furthermore, accredited investing portals have emerged to create connections between entrepreneurs and angels, bringing additional fluidity and ease to this market. The panel had four influential investors and experts. They are Mr. John ASON, Professional Angel Investor, Kewpie Associates; Mr. Anthony WOO, Vice-president of Product Strategy of Digital Transaction Limited; Mr. Vincent LAW, Founder and Managing Director, Spark Ventures; and Mr. Theodore MA, Managing Partner, CoCoon Ignite Ventures. They shared their views on the shift in the characteristics and examine the new formula of early stage and angel investments. Mr. Ason said that it’s the people that brings in other angels and other likely venture capitals. He advised entrepreneurs to look for the networking, show their ideas and work with other people. Mr. Woo pointed out that the general mentality is changing today in the sense that plenty of investors are doing more soul searching and reflection to deeply understand what they are investing in. He said that the due diligence should not only be based on social evidence - what other people are doing. For his company, they are trying to be more disciplined in the sense that they really try to understand tech itself. Mr. Law said that the local startup scene has changed a lot in the past few years as more and more new investors are joining the game, be it local venture capitals, corporate venture capitals, venture funds set up by family offices or funding schemes launched by the Hong Kong government and world-class incubators like Cyberport. Mr. Ma said that startup is really solving problems. He advised entrepreneurs should go out and talk to people in order to understand the needs in the market. From a venture capital’s point of view, they are investing companies to essentially give them more runways. Investment money isn’t the money that entrepreneurs make. Instead, entrepreneurs should get money from customers and customers are only willing to pay if they understand the companies are actually solving the problems. About China Daily Founded in 1981, China Daily covers 200 million readers and users worldwide through diversified platforms, including newspapers, websites, and mobiles and social media. The number of China Daily’s followers had now reached 46.5 million on Weibo, 5.8 million on the WeChat Blog platform, and another 80 million on Facebook. About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia.
2019-11-05In the buzzing world of startups, only focused and down-to-earth problem solvers could survive the stiff competition and attract venture capital to help them get off the ground, a China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable forum heard on Tuesday. Getting money for startups could be a daunting task years ago, especially in Hong Kong, because traditional VC firms were more interested in putting money into startups in the relatively late stages of their lifecycle in exchange for more secure returns, said Vincent Law, founder and managing director of Spark Ventures. “In the past few years, however, the local startup scene has changed a lot as more and more new investors are joining the game, be it local VCs, corporate VCs, venture funds set up by family offices or funding schemes launched by the Hong Kong government and world-class incubators like Cyberport,” Law told the a panel discussion themed “Then and Now: The New Formula for Early Stage & Angel Investment”, held as part of the two-day Cyberport Venture Capital Forum in Hong Kong. Billed as Cyberport’s annual premier venture forum and the region’s signature venture conference, the forum kicked off, shedding light on the game-changing world of tech venturing. More importantly, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a national policy to replicate the success of other city clusters to promote the emergence of a regional powerhouse, spells potentially huge opportunities for Hong Kong startups with the foresight to jump on the bandwagon, Law said. The grand plan, which reinforces the theme of regional cooperation and integration, highlights a broader market to bolster the broader vision of startups in Hong Kong, he said. “If local startups heading north for greener pastures could expand their businesses across the region, it’s a perfect stepping stone for them to go global and get more funds.” In the second quarter of 2019, VC-backed companies raised $52.7 billion with 3,855 deals, according to data from KPMG. The role that venture capital has played in the startup scene can never be underestimated. “Startup is really about solving problems,” said Theodore Ma, managing partner at CoCoon Ignite Ventures. “From a VC’s point of view, we’re investing companies to essentially give them more runway. Investment money isn’t the money that you make. Instead, you should get money from customers and customers are only willing to pay if they understand you are actually solving the problems.” Ma said this points to a shift of focus among the investment community. Previously, VCs just looked at hundreds of companies and picked one with the most impressive statistics. “Today, we’re actively going out there to find those companies that know exactly what they are trying to solve,” Ma noted. “Those companies are not just out there raising money like anyone else, because they’ve got valuation. They are raising money because they truly understand specific industry-related problems and know how much one may need to become profitable.” Anthony Woo, vice-president of product strategy of Digital Transaction Ltd, agreed. He believed the overall investment community is shifting from an overly excessive focus on matrix and statistics. “The general overall mentality is changing today in the sense that plenty of investors are doing soul searching and reflection to deeply understand what they’re investing in,” he said. As the next big things like big data, artificial intelligence and 5G stand as the highly sought-after investment themes on everyone’s lip, investors nowadays have a lot of homework to do to deeply understand what they are investing in, he said. “Looking for the network, showing your ideas and working with other people — this is the winning formula I can offer for entrepreneurs,” said John Ason, professional angel investor of Kewpie Associates. “We’re obsessed with failure and we’re obsessed with success. But both of them are just a snapshot in journey. There are companies out there that have failed multiple times. There’re also companies that were runaway successes but have disappeared nowadays,” said Ma. “More focus should be put on the journey, rather than the snapshots,” he stressed.
2019-11-05The Cyberport Venture Capital Forum — one of the landmark tech investment events in Hong Kong’s iconic technology park — has further fueled corporate venture funding, with up to HK$360 million in funds secured for its startups. The forum unveiled a series of outstanding achievements of the Cyberport Investors Network (CIN) — its flagship fundraising project for tech startups. The accomplishments included a total of HK$360 million ($46 million) of funds raised — a huge amount of incoming incentives for Cyberport’s startups. Titled “New Frontier of Tech Venturing”, the first day of the event was packed with a plethora of illuminating keynotes and panel discussions and uncovered the latest trends in the tech venture capital market. Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung, secretary for innovation and technology of the Hong Kong SAR; George Lam, chairman of Cyberport; Peter Yan, CEO of Cyberport; Duncan Chiu, chairman of Steering Group of the CIN; and new Chairperson Cindy Chow were among those who officiated the forum’s opening ceremony on Tuesday. Lam expressed confidence in Hong Kong’s venture capital market, believing that the rapid development of technology and digital transformation in Asia have not slowed down despite the impact brought on by the macro environment. He said the Cyberport Macro Fund has invested HK$106 million in 14 startups so far, and has brought nearly HK$500 million in co-investments since its launch, bringing total investments in startups to more than HK$600 million, exemplifying the strength and potential of local startups. “Facing the challenges ahead, I believe Hong Kong’s development in innovation and technology will continue to march forward while seizing new opportunities arising from the Bay Area,” Lam said. Lam’s remarks echoed those of Chiu, who said: “Beyond the heartening progress we’ve made in investments, this year, we’ve been successful in bringing in more investors from the Bay Area. We believe this will stimulate deal flow and help our local startups tapping into the Bay Area market, while promoting synergy and development within the region’s technology ecosystem.” One of the forum’s focuses is on corporate venture, and an impressive lineup, including representatives from C capital, CLP Holdings, PM Equity Partner and China Resources Capital, was assembled to impart insight on their partnerships with private and institutional investors to create value for their own businesses. The two-day event featured more than 40 leading industry leaders, investors and tech startups, as well as rising stars from the Cyberport community.
2019-11-05Cooperation and collaboration are needed to further promote the tourism industry and enhance ties, said speakers at a forum in Macao. Currently, Argentina and Brazil are working on mutual acceptance for a Chinese tourist visa that will allow Chinese travelers to visit both countries, said Argentinian Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos, adding that the talks on this measure can be extended to other countries in South America. Argentina signed an agreement on Oct 14 on mutual visa-exemption with Macao, which allows travelers from Macao to enter Argentina for up to 30 days without the need for a visa. The measure will be effective from mid-November. “We have built trust (with China) … and this trust will create friendship,” said Santos, noting his country can also help China fulfill its aspiration to develop soccer. Santos was speaking at the 8th Global Tourism Economy Forum held in Macao on Oct 13-15. This year marks the 47th and 45th anniversaries of China’s diplomatic ties with Argentina and Brazil, respectively. The two South American countries were featured as partner countries of this year’s GTEF. “Brazil is going through an important process now … and (the country) highlights its closeness to China,” said Brazilian Tourism Minister Marcelo Alvaro Antonio, adding Chinese investment in the tourism sector is welcome as he hoped to see closer bilateral cooperation through tourism. “China can become our biggest partner in tourism … we want to transform our partnership, not just in the economic area but also in the tourism area,” said Antonio, adding that Brazil is also working to allow the issuance of electronic visas for Chinese tourists, in order to facilitate exchange between the two countries. Hosted by Macao’s Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture in cooperation with the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the forum brought together government officials, industry leaders and academic experts from around the world to share their insights under the theme “Tourism and Leisure: Roadmap to a Beautiful Life”. Santos said tourism provides great opportunities for the world, particularly in job creation. About 10 percent of the world’s workforce is associated with tourism, according to the UNWTO. Noting that tourism is about healthy lifestyles and the well-being of society, Zurab Pololikashvili, the UNWTO’s secretary-general, said cooperation and experience-sharing are needed for stronger growth. He encouraged active participation from the private sector, including cooperating with the public sector to jointly keep pace with the fast-growing industry. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region. Former Macao chief executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah, who is now vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the GTEF, said the unveiling of the ‘Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’ early this year gives Macao new missions to achieve at this significant moment in history. The Greater Bay Area covers nine cities in Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao SARs.
2019-10-21Riding high on the rapid development of the Bay Area, Macao is diversifying tourism and seeking areas with growth potential, said Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office. “Having the (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater) Bay Area as a conjunction of different attractions will help to create more synergies and also bring in tourists from areas that Macao on its own cannot tap into,” she told China Daily on the sidelines of the eighth Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao on Tuesday. About 40 million tourists arrivals to Macao are expected this year, according to Senna Fernandes. The Bay Area development plan, unveiled in February, will lure more people to visit Macao while encouraging the exchange of ideas in the region. However, there are still major challenges facing Macao, noted Senna Fernandes. With a total land area of about 32 square kilometers, the number of attractions Macao can create and the city’s ability to accommodate visitors are limited, she explained. It is also difficult for the city to encourage long-haul flights to Macao given its small market size. To tackle these drawbacks, Macao is working to improve its tourist products, noted Senna Fernandes. The city also plans to host a variety of activities that appeal to people with different tastes and lifestyles. “The product development side will always feature heavily on Macao itself and we are now working with different entities to develop tourism products in various areas of Macao,” Senna Fernandes said. In addition, Macao hopes to attract more visitors to connect their flights in the city with strong support from the Bay Area development plan, she said. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, elaborates on ways for the gambling mecca to develop itself into a well-rounded tourism hub. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY) Backed by Bay Area Since April, the Macao SAR government has presented its half-year-long international art and cultural event Art Macao. This coincides with celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao SAR. The art festival features the Macao Orchestra and the Macao Chinese Orchestra concerts, Macao Cultural Centre signature programs, international youth festivals and visual arts exhibitions at higher education institutions. For the long-term, sustainable development of Macao as a travel destination, Senna Fernandes said, it would continue to serve as a tourism training base for the Bay Area. This is the eighth year Macao has held the Global Tourism Economy Forum. This provides a platform for different countries and regions to exchange ideas and insights on tourism development, while also boosting sustainable tourism, she said. A forum reinventing itself As vice-chairman of GTEF, Senna Fernandes said the annual forum was progressing by introducing new elements each year. For instance, the forum set up exhibition sites a few years ago designated for people in the industry to exchange ideas and ink agreements. This year, the forum set up the first World Tourism Investment and Financing Conference, which gathered leading international investment experts and tourism leaders. They shared their insights on investment and inspired delegates to explore new opportunities in tourism markets involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and across the Bay Area. “Every year, the forum aims to improve itself and try to continuously serve as a very good base for the exchange of ideas while at the same time doing solid business,” Senna Fernandes said. She added that these insights are the most valuable outcome of the forum. Industrial experts and leaders offer practical ideas on how to improve tourism. As Macao celebrates the 20th anniversary of its return to the motherland this year, the SAR government has planned a series of celebratory tourism events. Coincidentally, it is also the year of the 30th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest, which took place throughout the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holidays. “We branded it as a dual celebration of the anniversaries of Macao returning to the motherland and for the fireworks contest,” said Senna Fernandes. People in Macao and Zhuhai’s Hengqin New Area will be treated to firework shows on Dec 20. “It’s the first time for us to launch a fireworks display together with Hengqin; we hope that it will be a very glamorous evening for everybody,” added Senna Fernandes.
2019-10-16For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE Greater Bay Area Tourism Development: An Integrated Approach for Well-being OCT 15, 2019, MACAO : Co-organized by China Daily and the Global Tourism Economy Forum, the Special Interview session, themed “Greater Bay Area Tourism Development: An Integrated Approach for Well being” will be held in Macao on Tuesday, Oct 15, 2019. The conference attracted nearly 300 government officials, business leaders and academics. Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes , Director, Macao Government Tourism Office; Vice Chairman, Global Tourism Economy Forum , delivered the session keynote address. She pointed out the positioning of Macao in Greater Bay Area is to develop into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure and the Commercial and Trade Cooperation Service Platform between China and Portuguese speaking Countries, promote an appropriate level of diversified economic development, and develop into a base for exchange and cooperation where Chinese culture is the mainstream and diverse cultures coexist, and strengthen the role of Macao as One Centre, One Platform. She pointed out that a round 40 million tourists are expected to visit Macao this year, but rather than simply increasing the number of visitors, what Macao needs is how to change the types of tourists structurally. She said that in Aug 2017, the Macao SAR Government signed the “Framework Agreement of Strategic Cooperation on Smart City Development” with the Alibaba Group in order to better help tourists experience Macao . She highlighted the importance of smart tourism in developing Macao into Smart City. She said that since 2017, Macao Government Tourism Office has started to cooperate with Alibaba Cloud to develop smart tourism and has jointly developed three projects in 2019, including tourism information interchange platform , application for visitor insights, and Smart application for visitor flows. She hopes the experience of visitors before, during and after the journey can be enhanced through the various applications of smart travel. The Special Interview follows by the keynote address had three distinguished speakers to share their views on the tourism development of the Greater Bay Area. They are Mr. Daniel Fong, Director, Nam Kwong (Group) Company Ltd. and Chairman of Board, China Travel Service (Macao) Ltd.;Dr . Jia Jiaya , Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Distinguished Scientist and Director, Tencent Youtu Lab; and Mr. Peter Lv , Executive Director an d General Manager, Huafa Sports Operations Management Co., Ltd. Mr. Fong said tourists used to rely on the travel agencies when travelling since the internet was not well developed and many tourists knew little about the outside world. He pointed out that with drastic changes taken place in tourists’ demand, the number of people choosing free and independent travel increased greatly. In order to develop high quality tourism, the tourism industry needs to better serve the tourists by providing them with products that meet their demand. Dr . Jia said with the use of technology being improved in various industries, technology is poised to be a major driver for the tourism industry in the next five to ten years. For instance, powered by the artificial intelligence, smart recommendations for tourism sites and route planning will allow people of different background and ages to receive recommendations for travel based on their own interest. Mr. Lv said sports will play a more important role in promoting the development of the tourism industry. He takes marathon as an example. A round 1,500 marathon races were held in China in 2018, attracting more than 5 million people to attend. In Zhuhai, about 60-70 percent of participants of races held by Huafa Sports are not from the local area. He hopes his company will have the chance to hold a marathon race on the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge. About China Daily Founded in 1981, China Daily covers 200 million readers and users worldwide through diversified platforms, including newspapers, websites, and mobiles and social media. The number of China Daily’s followers had now reached 46.5 million on Weibo, 5.8 million on the WeChat Blog platform, and another 80 million on Facebook. About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia.
2019-10-15Riding high on the goals and undertakings of the high-profile Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area mega plan, Macao, with the “one country, two system” principle as its major advantage, is sparing no effort to consolidate its position as a tourist magnet. The city underscored this vision when the eighth session of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) kicked off in Macao on Monday. Hosted by Macao’s Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture, the two-day event is promoting international dialogue with the theme “Tourism and Leisure: Roadmap to a Beautiful Life” — a proactive response to “the China Dream” as outlined by President Xi Jinping, who stressed: “People’s yearning for a good and beautiful life is the goal for us to strive for.” This year, the event takes on a new significance as Macao celebrates its 20th anniversary of its return to the motherland. In his welcoming address, former Macao chief executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah, who is now vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the GTEF, said the event stands as a “once-in-a-lifetime chance” for Macao to be identified as one of the four core cities and core engines for driving development in the region, together with its counterparts Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, in the Greater Bay Area Outline Development Plan, which the State Council released in February. The principle of “one country, two systems” offers Macao, where East meets West, the best of both worlds. The principle enables the city to keep its way of life and freedom while tapping the opportunities and benefits arising from reuniting with the Chinese mainland, Macao Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on said. “For years, tourism has long been the pillar of Macao’s economy,” Chui said. Since the establishment of the Macao SAR government in 1999, the tourism industry has been on a tear in the territory. Visitor arrivals to Macao have quadrupled, and the number of hotel rooms has tripled, he said. Zurab Pololikashvili, who is in the second year of a four-year term as secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization, stressed the forum charts its course of making Macao “the next Davos” for visitors — a step closer to the promise made at last year’s event. This year, Argentina and Brazil are featured as the partnered countries of the event. Argentine Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos, who traveled thousands of kilometers from the other side of the world to Macao, said he believes tourism could go beyond the geographical distance and connect countries and regions together. “Argentina, Brazil and China are closer than ever before, as the three great nations share the same rhythm,” he said. Zhang Xu, vice-minister of culture and tourism, also lauded the continued potential of tourism in Macao. “As the growing rhetoric and mentality of protectionism today cast a shadow over the globe, the tourism industry, with its inherent spirit of openness and collaboration, has what it takes to be one of the most prominent growth engines for the global economy. It is high time for Macao to make a difference,” he said. The forum is billed as one of the leading annual events in the global tourism calendar and the single most representative non-governmental tourism platform in China. Since its inception in 2012, it has attracted more than 10,783 participants from 89 countries and regions, including delegations from 147 provinces and cities from the Chinese mainland, and invited 570 of the world’s most influential business leaders, decision-makers and academics to share their insights. In conjunction with this year’s GTEF, China Daily will host a panel discussion for the eighth consecutive year. The event will bring together distinguished academics, policymakers and industry heavyweights to share their insights on how a globally competitive cluster of metropolises in the making under the grand plan of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area could be turned into a world-class tourism destination and bring dramatic changes to the regional tourism market. The dialogue, titled “Greater Bay Area Tourism Development: An Integrated Approach for Well-Being”, will be held today in Macao.
2019-10-15新闻稿 即时发布 中国日报10月15日澳门电 今日中国日报第八度携手“世界旅游经济论坛”在澳门合办题为“粤港澳大湾区旅游发展:综合建设美好生活”的专题研讨会,吸引逾300名来自政商学界的高端人士参会。 澳门特别行政区政府旅游局局长文绮华出席活动并发表主旨演讲。文绮华强调,智慧旅游是将澳门发展成为智慧城市的一个切入点。澳门特区政府旅游局与阿里巴巴集团在2017年8月签署构建智慧城市战略合作框架协议,并于2019 合力开发三个资讯科技项目,包括旅游资讯交换平台、旅客洞察应用和智慧客流应用。她期望透过智慧旅游的软件,加强旅客的游览体验,并利用资讯技术对不同群体宣传不同主题的澳门旅游产品,进行精准营销。 南光(集团)有限公司董事、澳门中国旅行社股份有限公司董事长方立群指出,随着游客的需求发生巨大变化,自由行的人数显着上升,想要发展优质旅游,旅游业需要更好地服务旅客,提供符合旅客需求的产品。 香港中文大学计算机科学与工程学系终身教授、腾讯优图X-Lab 杰出科学家及实验室负责人贾佳亚说,随着各个行业的科技水平都在不断提高,科技在未来5至10年会对旅游有巨大推动作用。例如智能推荐和智能路线规划的功能,可以通过判断个人的兴趣爱好,来为不同群体、不同年龄层的游客推荐相应的景点,实现千人千面的旅游新方式。 华发体育运营管理有限公司执行董事兼总经理吕品德表示,他相信未来体育产品对旅游的拉动作用会越来越大,希望有机会在港珠澳大桥上举办马拉松比赛。他以马拉松赛事为例,2018年中国约举办1500场马拉松比赛,吸引超过500万人参与,而华发体育在珠海举办的马拉松比赛中,约有60%至70%的参与人士来自外地。 关于中国日报 中国日报是中国国家英文日报,创刊于1981年,拥有报纸、网站、移动客户端、脸谱、推特、微博、微信、电子报等十余种媒介平台,全媒体用户总数超过2亿。截至2019年9月,中国日报微博粉丝数超过4650万;微信订阅人数640万,客户端全球下载用户超过2200万,是我国唯一下载量过千万的英文新闻客户端;脸谱账号粉丝数超过8000万,位居全球媒体账号粉丝数第二位;推特账号粉丝数430万。 关于中国日报亚洲领袖圆桌论坛 亚洲领袖圆桌论坛(www.cdroundtable.com),旨在搭建一个由亚洲国家和地区的政、商、学界领袖和社会精英参与的高端对话和交流平台,围绕亚洲地区经济、商业、产业和社会发展等具有战略影响的重要议题展开讨论和分享见解,以增进中国与亚洲和西方国家的交流和理解。
2019-10-15