RISE Conference returns to Hong Kong for five consecutive years

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 2 September 2021 – Today
the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and Web Summit announced that RISE, “one of the
world’s most influential tech events”, will return to Hong Kong in March 2022,
as an in-person event. This highlights Hong Kong’s thriving startup economy,
leading position in innovation and technology, as well as its status as The
World’s Meeting Place for business events to tap tremendous opportunities in
the region.

RISE
was launched in Hong Kong in 2015 and has already hosted five successful
events, becoming Asia’s largest tech event, according to CNBC. Over the years,
the event has attracted thousands of global tech founders, startups and investors
to the city, such as Joseph Tsai, Co-founder & Executive Vice Chairman of
Alibaba, John Collison, Co-founder & President of Stripe, Peggy Johnson,
CEO of Magic Leap, and Neil Shen, Founding Managing Partner of Sequoia Capital
China. The event has become an important window for companies from both East
and West to make connections in new markets. With the HKTB teaming up with
InvestHK and AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong has once again won as the host city of
RISE for the coming 5 years.

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Edward Yau,
said: “I’m very excited to see RISE, a world-renowned tech event,
returning to Hong Kong. This is a testimony of Hong Kong’s success to containing
the pandemic and keeping infection rate among the lowest in the world, thereby
giving international event organisers confidence that they can stage their events
here safely. I am sure the staging of RISE will showcase Hong Kong’s capacity
to deliver amid the challenges posed by the epidemic, and connect our tech
start-up ecosystem with that of the globe. I look forward to welcoming more
world class business events to Hong Kong, injecting new vigour into our
economy.”

Paddy Cosgrave, Co-founder and CEO of the RISE Conference and Web
Summit said: “We are extremely
grateful for the support the city of Hong Kong has given RISE over the last
five years, and we couldn’t be more excited to return in person in 2022. We’ve
seen the region’s tech and startup economy grow from strength to strength since
we launched RISE in 2015.”

Cosgrave continued: “We
always intended to come back to Hong Kong at some stage. RISE has grown to what
it is today after five successful years in the city. The event has now become
an important nexus that connects the East and the rest of the world. CEOs and
investors from around the world want a window into the region, and vice versa.”

HKTB Chairman Dr YK Pang said: “We welcome the return of RISE to
Hong Kong for another five years in 2022–2026. The city’s state-of-the-art
infrastructure and venues, complemented with a favourable business environment
and unique travel experiences, are all part of the equation reflecting Hong
Kong’s appeal for international business events. With Hong Kong’s strategic
location in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, event participants
can also capitalise on the multitude of opportunities in the region. With the strong
commitment to hygiene and safety across all community sectors, the city is gearing
up for a new milestone, and the HKTB will continue to make its best efforts to
maintain Hong Kong’s status as The World’s Meeting Place.”

Chairman of the AsiaWorld-Expo Mr Ng Chi-kee added: “Hosting
RISE in the coming 5 years bears an impactful significance to the recovery of
Hong Kong’s MICE sector, as it marks the return of top-class international
events to Hong Kong. With stringent anti-epidemic measures in place and our
quality service, we will continue to work closely with organisers to deliver
world-class events to maintain Hong Kong as the Asia’s premier meeting hub and
attract more international events to the city.”

Hong Kong boasts a growing and diverse startup economy. Between
2018 and 2020, the number of local startups rose 28 per cent to 3,360, with
non-locals accounting for 26 per cent of founders. Additionally, in 2020,
foreign direct investment (FDI) in the city surged by 62 per cent year-on-year,
to US$119 billion, making Hong Kong the third largest FDI recipient in the
world, behind the United States (US$156.3 billion) and mainland China (US$149.3
billion). According to the World Bank, Hong Kong ranks third in the world for
ease of doing business.

RISE will take place as an in-person conference in AsiaWorld-Expo
from 14 to 17 March 2022.