Things to Know for Entering the Hong Kong Market
Local Startups' Community "MokTalk" Makes Its First Landing in HK!
"MokTalk", an event that takes place every Thursday to help international startups build their local networks, held its first session in Hong Kong on the 25th of January in collaboration with the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong. Government bodies such as the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency, as well as private investment-related institutions like the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology R&D Center, DL Securities, and Access Ventures, attended.
They shared insights on entering the Hong Kong market and facilitated open networking for startups looking to expand into Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Market Insights from Local VCs and Incubating Experts
During the MokTalk panel talk session, four local VCs and two incubator experts from universities shared their perspectives on the current state of the Hong Kong market.
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Yonghak Heo, CEO of Hong Kong VC First Bridge, observed that despite a decreasing trend in capital inflow to Hong Kong over the past three years, the fintech and virtual assets sectors remain areas where experiments not feasible in Korea could be conducted and potentially re-exported from Hong Kong. The relaxation of regulations on virtual assets and the presence of branches of global financial institutions in Hong Kong were highlighted as advantageous, along with the active real estate market making it a favorable space for proptech experiments.
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Donghyun Han, CEO of Hong Kong VC ST Invictus, described the market characteristics, noting that about 1% of the Hong Kong market is manufacturing, with the remainder being service industries. He also mentioned the advantage of having a talent pool from five universities in Hong Kong that rank in the top 100 globally. However, he advised against using Hong Kong as a gateway for entering the Chinese market, as doing business in mainland China remains challenging even for Hong Kong-based companies.
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Shincheol Kim, CEO of the R&D Center at the HKUST, suggested startups seeking investment in Hong Kong should consider their relevance to the local industries. He emphasized the need for thorough consideration of why Hong Kong is the chosen location for investment, citing that what might be successful in Saudi Arabia may not attract investment in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Cyberport and D.CAMP singed MOU
On the same day, Cyberport and D.CAMP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). dยทcamp and Cyberport, as the largest startup support organizations and global hubs of each region, are expected to greatly contribute to the growth of startups from both regions through this collaboration.
