Driving Innovations in Hong Kong and Germany - Regional Programme Energy Security and Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific
Event Reports
After welcoming remarks by Hr. Tim Wenniges, Director KAS Shanghai, Charles Ng, Associate Director-General of Invest HK, presented Hong Kong´s latest efforts to attractiv innovative investment. The city´s central location in Asian market make it a the perfect business base for companies. The new Silk Road/Belt and Road initiative will connect Hong Kong even deeper with mainland China, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area also offers many advantages for companies through improved traffic infrastructure. In 2018, the world's longest bridge will be opened between Hong Kong and Zhuhai/Macao, reducing the travel time between Hong Kong and the mainland to just 25 minutes.
As a german expert, KAS invited Tankred Schipanski, Member of the German Bundestag. Mr Schipanski presented policies and projects which Germany has realized in recent years to increase the innovative capacity of the German economy, especially in the field of digitization.
Diane de Beaudrap of WHub presented comparative advantages in Hong Kong, especially for start-up companies. Setting up a business in Hong Kong is straightforward and quick to implement because Hong Kong is still one of the world's freest economies with an efficient administration. Hong Kong is particularly well positioned for rapid growth and market expansion. In addition, the digital infrastructure is very well developed and the use of social media is high. From 2014 to 2016, the number of startups in Hong Kong has grown by 60%. The number of co-working offices is also increasing day by day. Because rental rates in Hong Kong are very high, co-working offices offer flexible options in space and working places. Useful exchange with other companies is also facilitated.
In financial innovations (FinTec), the development of markets in Asia are far ahead of Germany. Jerome Eger, Managing Director at Ginmon, a FinTech start-up, explained different digital payment options and various ways of using them. Social media apps like the Chinese WeChat can do much more than just messaging; they are increasingly serving as a mobile payment app. These platforms provide extensive payment options for the customer, but cencerns about privacy remain unanswered.
The start-up music company Soundbrenner has founded companies in Hong Kong and as well in Germany. Florian Simmendinger, CEO of Soundbrenner, compared his experiences at both locations. Germany is a leader in software development; however Hong Kong has the close connection to the high-performance electronics industry in Hong Kong's neighbour city Shenzhen; and Asians are famous for being open to new IT products. The biggest challenges in Hong Kong are the opening of business accounts due to very restrictive bank regulations. There are also difficulties in obtaining visas for employees.
Fyiona Yong, coach and former HR manager at Shell, presented the challenges of forming and collaborating of multi-generation teams. This challenge will become more urgent in the context of demographic change. At the same time, however, diversity of age, gender and origin offers great opportunities for innovation in companies.
The workshop was concluded by a lecture on innovative software solutions in the field of event marketing. Boris Barreck of Central Pacific Consultants Ltd. reported on the development of new integrated digital platforms in the highly competitive market of event marketing.
