The two-day Digital Economy Summit (DES) 2023 opened today (April 13) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Themed "Emerging with Resilience: Fostering a Smarter Future," the Summit gathered over 100 renowned technology visionaries, industry pioneers, business leaders and government officials from home and abroad, to present and exchange insights on various topics on innovation and technology (I&T). A record-breaking attendance of more than 4 800 people from around 40 countries/regions is expected. 

     The DES resumed for the first time after the pandemic and is rebranded from the previous Internet Economy Summit to manifest the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government's objective of developing a digital economy in Hong Kong as promulgated in the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint. The revival of the DES is a strong testament to Hong Kong's resumption of full normalcy and the city's return to the centre of the international stage. The Summit features an action-packed programme with eight thematic forums and symposium, examining a wide array of trending I&T topics including the integration of traditional and new economies, smart city, digital government, fintech, Web3, new industrialisation, as well as smart mobility.

     The DES today commenced with the opening remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee. The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong; Deputy Director of the Cyberspace Administration of China Ms Cao Shumin; Deputy Minister of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mr Chen Dong; and the President of the China Internet Development Foundation, Ms Wang Xiujun, also officiated at the opening ceremony.

     At the Visionary Forum held today, global tech giants and prominent industry experts enlightened the audience on how the exponential growth of future technology in smart city, 5G, artificial intelligence and big data, digital finance, smart mobility and more defines the new normal of smart economies. The Director-General of the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Government Service and Data, Mr Yang Pengfei, imparted the new vision of the "Digital Bay Area" towards a connected future, and Huawei's Chair of Scientist Advisory Committee, Mr William Xu, highlighted the collaboration among industry, academic and research sectors in spearheading technology innovation. Arup's Global Leader of Digital Services, Dr Will Cavendish, decoded how digital innovations catalyse low-carbon development, and the President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence International, Ms Selina Yuan, envisioned how the digitalisation of the Olympic Games would reshape the sports entertainment experience.

     Other keynote speakers at the Visionary Forum included the Vice President of Systems Engineering, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China of Cisco, Mr Raymond Janse van Rensburg; the Head of Ecosystem Development, Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market, Ms Gabrielle Inzirillo; and Vice President and Head of Guangzhou-Shenzhen R&D Center of Pony.ai, Dr Luyi Mo. 

     The Summit in the afternoon presented three parallel sessions, namely the Chambers Forum, the Smart City Forum hosted by the Smart City Consortium, and the Digital Government Symposium co-organised by Huawei. The three sessions examined how enterprises integrated technologies to transcend business models, the capitalisation of the opportunities of smart city clusters in the Greater Bay Area, as well as the acceleration of digital government transformation.

     The DES will continue tomorrow (April 14) with the FinTech Forum, in which the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, will deliver opening remarks. Prominent industry experts and trailblazers will delve into the potentials of Web3 and virtual assets in reshaping the digital economy and enlighten the audience on upcoming I&T trend.

     Three parallel sessions, namely the New Industrialisation Forum, the Smart Mobility Forum and the Beyond Web3 Forum, organised respectively by the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute and the Hong Kong Cyberport, will be held tomorrow afternoon. The forums will decode the latest trends in the adoption of integrated manufacturing technologies for building a smarter, people-oriented and sustainable industry, the future of smart transportation in the 5G era, as well as the decentralised networks and blockchain infrastructure in the Web3 space for re-creating a smarter economy respectively. 

     Attendees can also visit the concurrent InnoEX jointly organised by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, for a premier showcase of smart city innovations and global I&T solutions. 

     The DES is jointly organised by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Hong Kong Cyberport, with the China Internet Development Foundation as the supporting organisation. Details of the Summit are available on the event website www.digitaleconomysummit.hk.

Ends/Thursday, April 13, 2023
Issued at HKT 17:00

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