Hong Kong Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan recently visited Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area. During his four-day visit, from April 9-11, he met with local government officials and senior management of technology companies to bolster Hong Kong-US links on innovation and technology (I&T).
Noting that Seattle is one of the major high-tech hubs in the U.S. and has a fast-growing start-up community, he visited several I&T enterprises there to tap into their successful experiences. During the visits, he pointed out that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government spared no effort in promoting I&T development with a focus on four areas, namely biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), smart city and fintech. It has also allocated sufficient resources with a commitment of over HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) so far.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan (left) meets with the Senior Deputy Mayor of Seattle, Mr Michael Fong, in Seattle.
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At the meeting with the senior management of Microsoft, Mr Chan got an update on the latest AI developments and Microsoft’s measures in promoting research and development and I&T education in Hong Kong. He also discussed the opportunities brought to the industry by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
He also called at DigiPen Institute of Technology to learn more on the Institute’s work in real-time interactive simulation and video game development education and chatted with its students.
Mr. Chan met with the senior management of PitchBook, a large financial data and software company, to deepen his understanding of the financial sector’s use of data and to exchange views on the future of fintech.
He noted that there are currently more than 550 fintech companies in Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government would continue to keep up its efforts to provide a conducive environment for fintech companies to develop their business.
At the subsequent meeting at Amazon Web Services, Mr Chan said that with its world-class information technology infrastructure and a deep pool of professionals, Hong Kong holds advantages in becoming a regional data center hub.
He said he was pleased to learn that Amazon was going to set up cloud infrastructure in Hong Kong and welcomed the company to further expand its business presence in the city.
In Seattle, Mr Chan attended a gala reception and dinner to mark the launch of direct flights between Hong Kong and Seattle. He also addressed a business seminar organized by Cathay Pacific Airways Limited and supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, San Francisco. He updated the business representatives in attendance on the city’s latest I&T developments and the series of initiatives launched by the HKSAR Government in developing I&T infrastructure, supporting technology enterprises and pooling relevant talents.
During lunch with the Board of Directors of the Washington State China Relations Council, he said he hoped that the Council would continue to connect enterprises and related organizations of both sides to take the co-operation in a new direction to seize the development opportunities in Mainland China.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan (right) in Seattle plays a video game created by students of the DigiPen Institute of Technology during his visit there.
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In the San Francisco Bay Area, he discussed the latest development trends of automation and AI with the senior management of Automation Anywhere, a robotic process automation software developer company.
Mr Chan discussed with Google representatives ways to promote AI, deep learning, smart city initiatives and their research and development.
He also visited NVIDIA for an update on the recent developments of the application of AI. The company is one of the technology partners involved in setting up the Data Analytics Platform with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks to help enhance data development in Hong Kong and drive smart city development.
In addition, he met with the top management of Auto X, a developer of autonomous driving technology, and deepened his understanding of the latest developments of the technology.
Later, he exchanged views on I&T training with the founder and senior management of an online learning platform.
Over a lunch with representatives of major venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, Mr Chan gave an overview of the financial and professional support to start-ups at different stages of their development, listing regime of Hong Kong that attracts new economy sector and the initiatives to attract private equity funds to set up and operate in Hong Kong.
Mr Chan also had lunch with representatives of the Bay Area Council. He listened to their experiences, and underlined the vast opportunities in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Before concluding his visit to the U.S., Mr Chan had dinner with over 100 Hong Kong people living in San Francisco to brief them on the latest developments of Hong Kong and learn about their everyday lives.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan (first right) visits Microsoft in Seattle to learn about the latest developments of artificial intelligence.
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The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, delivers a speech at a seminar on Hong Kong - Seattle business in Seattle.
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The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan visited AutoX, a developer of autonomous driving technology, in San Francisco on April 10. Mr Chan (second left) is pictured with the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, San Francisco, Mr Ivanhoe Chang (first right); the Hong Kong Commissioner for Economic and Trade Affairs, USA, Mr Eddie Mak (second right); and the management representatives of the company.
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The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan met with Google representatives in San Francisco and discussed the ways to promote artificial intelligence, deep learning, smart city and their research and development on April 11. Mr Chan (centre) and the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, San Francisco, Mr Ivanhoe Chang (left), are pictured with a Google representative.
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