China's restart may push the Greater Bay Area to the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution globally.

23-08-17 17:35

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On August 16, 2023, Hong Kong - AI and Web3 companies in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area in southeastern China have been at the forefront of leading the fourth industrial revolution into a new stage, and China's accelerated reopening has accelerated these driving forces. Experts evaluated and looked ahead before the Edge Global AI & Web3 Investment Summit, which will be held in Hong Kong from September 25th to 27th.

According to a study by HSBC in the Asia-Pacific region, the value of China's digital economy has increased from 11 trillion yuan in 2012 to over 45.5 trillion yuan in 2021, with its share in the country's GDP rising from 22% to 40%. A significant portion of this growth comes from the Greater Bay Area located in southeastern China. The region has a population of 86 million, including most of Guangdong Province, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Macau, with a total GDP of 194.354 billion US dollars.

Hong Kong, combined with Shenzhen and Guangzhou, was rated as the world's second-best technology cluster in the 2021 Global Innovation Index.

Experts say that China's reopening has put the "gateway to the world from Asia" back on the map, especially with the various solutions emerging in the fourth industrial revolution, such as blockchain technology, Web3, artificial intelligence, drones, robotics, and fintech. In early August of this year, China resumed group visas for more than 70 countries, including the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

For Tang Yi, co-founder and co-chairman of the Hong Kong Blockchain Association (HKBA.club), the revival of the Greater Bay Area is also a strong push from the Hong Kong capital market. "In the past ten or twenty years, Hong Kong has always been the largest capital market in the traditional financial world, with annual IPO financing and various risk investment private financing amounts increasing."

He also added, "Hong Kong is one of the best places in the world and one of the freest economies in the world, so Hong Kong is bound to become the center of Web3 development." Tang Yi will give a speech at the upcoming Edge Global AI & Web3 Investment Summit.

The CEO of Dubai's Luna PR, Nikita Sachdev, said: "As I prepare for the upcoming Edge Global AI & Web3 Investment Summit in Hong Kong, one thing is very clear - the Web3 industry is igniting a revolution. Hong Kong's role in this transformation is highlighted by the growing Web3 ecosystem." In June 2023, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong began accepting applications for licenses to establish cryptocurrency trading platforms.

Founder of Vertex Labs and Chairman of Edge Summit, Ander Tsui, pointed out that "China has always maintained a stable position at the forefront of Web3 development, with a large number of outstanding Web3 funds and entrepreneurs. At the same time, Hong Kong enjoys political stability and an extremely supportive legal framework. With the strong support of the Hong Kong government, we envision that the EDGE Summit will become a platform for exchanging and disseminating cutting-edge insights globally. This gathering aims to explore the potential of Hong Kong as a hub for incubating cutting-edge technologies such as Web3 and artificial intelligence, not only in Asia but also globally. For pioneers in the fields of artificial intelligence and Web3, Hong Kong is expected to be an excellent starting point."

Oobit Technology Chairman Moshe Shlisser said: "More than 60 senior executives from companies in China, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States have confirmed their attendance at the EDGE Summit. The outstanding quality of the participants makes me look forward to attending the EDGE Summit. Hong Kong is rapidly becoming a global center for encryption, so we are very much looking forward to holding the first Edge Summit in Hong Kong to promote the growth of the technology ecosystem in the region. Artificial intelligence has rapidly become a part of every company, entrepreneur, and individual, and we also see the potential to build bridges between Web3 and artificial intelligence. We believe that the first EDGE Summit will lay the foundation for some of the significant progress we have recently seen and will soon see."