August 28, 2023
HONG KONG – With Hong Kong’s vigorous promotion of innovation and technology, particularly the development of Web3, the city should proactively harness these cutting-edge technologies to propel the growth of the digital entertainment industry, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.
Writing in his Sunday blog, Chan said further application possibilities of Web3 should be explored to foster economic development and benefit residents.
The application and the evolution of innovative technologies have been driving the rapid expansion of the entertainment industry in recent years, and empowered by this, the digital entertainment sector offers immense economic potential since high-quality entertainment experiences can stimulate consumption and further drive the economy, said Chan.
He believes the next breakthrough in economic growth is likely to be driven by Web3 and blockchain technology
He believes the next breakthrough in economic growth is likely to be driven by Web3 and blockchain technology.
As part of the Happy Hong Kong campaign, a three-day forum on digital entertainment leadership held at Cyberport gathered more than 90 speakers from over 30 countries and regions to share their insights on how digital entertainment technologies in the Web3 era can revolutionize various aspects of life, including art, education and sports.
The event, themed “Power Up! When Entertainment Goes Beyond 3oundaries”, attracted more than 3,500 participants both on-site and online, “demonstrating the vibrant development of digital entertainment in Hong Kong”, Chan said.
The finance chief also presided over the opening ceremony of the Web3 Living Lab on Saturday, at which Hong Kong enterprises demonstrated their application of Web3 technologies in various aspects of daily life and business, which can enhance efficiency and foster innovative ideas that generate new economic value.
Cyberport is home to about 170 firms conducting digital entertainment operations, spanning the metaverse, game development, big data analytics for gaming, e-sports equipment, and R&D on gaming peripherals. Many of them are actively leveraging Web3 and other state-of-the-art technologies, and have yielded impressive results, according to Chan.
He said the application of the rapidly advancing Web3 technology extends beyond digital entertainment and virtual assets.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued the world’s first government-backed tokenized green bonds in February this year, bringing together bonds and other financial instruments, participants, and related operations on a digital platform
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued the world’s first government-backed tokenized green bonds in February this year, bringing together bonds and other financial instruments, participants, and related operations on a digital platform. This has enhanced the efficiency of bond issuance, reducing the processing time from five business days to one.
To accelerate the development of Web3, Chan allocated HK$50 million ($6.37 million) in the 2023-24 Budget to Cyberport to facilitate the establishment of the Web3 ecosystem.
Cyberport has so far attracted 180 companies working on Web3-related technologies, including unicorns and licensed virtual asset trading platforms, with more than 20 percent of these enterprises from the Chinese mainland and overseas.
In addition, the Task Force on Promoting Web3 Development, chaired by Chan, has brought together industry leaders and professionals to help the special administrative region government in promoting the robust and sustainable development of Web3 from various aspects, including regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, talent training and educational promotion.