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HONG
KONG SAR – Media
OutReach – 2 November 2021 – The
Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (CVCF), Cyberport’s premier annual venture
capital event commenced today at Cyberport. Presented in a brand-new hybrid
format of online and offline engagement, CVCF 2021 gathered more than 70 global
venture capital investors to deliberate under the theme “Venturing for Success:
Resilience, Growth & Opportunity”. Against a backdrop of promising market
dynamics and rapid emergence of unicorns in the post-COVID era, speakers
discussed trends in global tech venture and financing, investor strategies and
emerging areas in venture capital, opportunities and prospects in the Greater
Bay Area, and more.
CVCF
was officially unveiled today in conjunction with the 4th anniversary of the Cyberport
Investors Network (CIN). Achievement of the CIN and Cyberport Macro Fund (CMF)
over the past 12 months in supporting start-ups with financing was also
announced.
Dr
David Chung, Under Secretary for Innovation and
Technology of HKSAR delivered the opening speech for the Forum. Co-officiating
the opening ceremony of the Forum were Dr George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport,
Peter Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Cyberport, Eric Chan, Chief Public
Mission Officer of Cyberport and Cindy Chow, Cyberport Investors Network
Steering Group Chairperson, alongside other guests.
In his speech, Dr David Chung,
Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology of HKSAR shared, “The
Cyberport Venture Capital Forum provides an excellent platform to connect and
facilitate exchange among investors, start-ups, enterprises, and industry
professionals, as well as foster investment matching opportunities. I trust
that investors will discover numerous useful solutions developed by Cyberport’s
start-ups through this platform. I wish the Forum another year of great
success.”
Dr George Lam: Start-up financing shows
strong performance
Dr
George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport, mentioned in his welcome address, “The
innovation and technology industry displayed strong resilience amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic last year. The completion of a number of significant investment
deals has set multiple records in the venture capital market. Cyberport’s
start-up community also delivered exceptional performance in fundraising. In
the first five months of this financial year, the total amount of funds raised
exceeded that of the entire previous year. The cumulative funds raised by
Cyberport’s start-up community has reached HK$18.7 billion to-date – a
year-on-year growth of more than 40% from HK$13.2 billion in the same period
last year. Cyberport has been promoting and facilitating investment matching
and supporting start-up fundraising through the CMF. This year, the CMF has
achieved an excellent co-investment ratio. Over the last year, a total of
approximately HK$38 million was injected into 5 start-ups, attracting
co-investments of HK$621 million to reach a total investment of HK$650 million
to achieve an investment ratio of 1:16. This is much higher than the past
average of 1:8. This reflects investors’ confidence in start-ups and the
high-potential investment field.
“It is now prime time for
innovation and technology development. With the increasing enthusiasm of
venture capital, the rapid emergence of unicorns, a thriving Greater Bay Area,
and favourable policies set out in the 14th National Five-Year Plan, I have
full confidence in Hong Kong’s development into the world’s innovation and technology
centre.”
From
September 2020 to August 2021, Cyberport injected capital through the CMF into
five Cyberport start-ups. They include Lynk, Rice Robotics, Dash Living, Hex
Trust and GOGOX. Since its establishment, the CMF has approved a total of
around HK$162 million for 22 projects and driven additional co-investment of
over HK$1.418 billion, bringing a total of more than HK$1.58 billion of
investment for start-ups.
Peter Yan, Chief Executive
Officer of Cyberport,
said, “This year’s ‘Cyberport Venture Capital Forum’ is being held in a hybrid
format for the first time to provide a unified online and offline experience,
covering several popular emerging investment themes such as the new space
economy, NFT, ESG, and more. I believe the Forum provides participants with an
in-depth understanding of the latest trends and opportunities in venture
capital and innovation technology, as well as creates investment possibilities
for start-ups. All the while, the Forum has further deepened project matching
and the development of the FinTech industry by providing a platform for
start-ups participating in the Fintech Proof-of-Concept Subsidy Scheme to
exchange ideas with regulatory bodies, industry leaders and investors, and explore
the latest trends of innovation with financial services, and the urgency of
promoting financial innovation.”
Cyberport Investors Network investments close
to HK$500 million in the past year
The achievements
of the Cyberport Investors Network (CIN) were also unveiled at the Forum on the
CIN’s fourth anniversary. Despite the on-going pandemic, the CIN facilitated deal
flows of 14 projects between investors and Cyberport start-ups, resulting in
investments totalling HK$496 million in the past year. Matched projects covered
various fields such as FinTech, artificial intelligence & big data,
enterprise solutions, the Internet of Things, and smart living. This also
brought the total investments under the CIN over the HK$1 billion mark to an
encouraging HK$1.124 billion over 51 matched deals since its establishment.
On the
future direction of the CIN, Cindy Chow, Chairperson of Cyberport Investors
Network Steering Group shares, “The Cyberport Investors Network has been
working closely with the Cyberport Macro Fund. With the CMF expanding its scope
to investments beyond the A round, we have recruited more investors who focus
on investing in growth-stage start-ups to match more projects. At the same
time, we will continue to intensify ties within the CIN, including working with
investors in specific industries to facilitate more targeted matching, and
recruiting more corporate venture and family office members to meet the investment
needs of enterprises. We will also maintain a diversified membership in the CIN
to meet the various fundraising needs of the Cyberport start-up community.”
Several
keynote speeches were delivered to kick off the Forum. KPMG China partner Irene
Chu presented the latest global trends in tech venture investments, including
sector hotspots, opportunities and challenges; Hong Kong Stock Exchange Group
Chief Executive Nicolas Aguzin shared on how the capital market is supporting
the tech Innovation ecosystem and the role of Hong Kong Stock Exchange;
Founders Space Captain and CEO Steve Hoffman spoke on how the next wave of
technology disruptions in the next few
decades will change the venture capital ecosystem; three Cyberport “unicorn”
companies, Klook, WeLab and Animoca Brands, shared their journeys of success.
There were also a series of discussions around topical issues including the
impact of the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Scheme on the
development of FinTech innovation, non-fungible tokens (NFT), ESG
(Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) and impact investment, as well
as the prospects for tech start-ups in the Greater Bay Area, special purpose
acquisition companies (SPAC), and the new space economy, etc.
Cyberport Entrepreneurship Programme
Graduation Ceremony 2021
The Cyberport
Entrepreneurship Programme Graduation Ceremony was also held on the first day
of the Forum to celebrate the graduation of 170 start-ups from Cyberport
Creative Micro Fund and Cyberport Incubation Programme this year.
Cyberport Incubation Programme
received more than 650 applications last year competing for 130 places while Cyberport Creative Micro Fund received close to 750 applications
with only 97 projects shortlisted, reflecting a keen interest from entrepreneurs
to participate in innovation and technology development. In addition to celebrating the
milestones of these start-ups, the graduation ceremony also provides a valuable
opportunity for Cyberport start-ups to connect with investors and industry
professionals.
Edventures GBA
Summit explores EdTech Development
Two
additional spotlight events under CVCF will also be held tomorrow, including
the “Edventures Global Business Acceleration Summit” (Edventures GBA Summit).
The event is co-organized between Cyberport and Esperanza, which was founded by
Mr John Tsang. The Summit aims to develop Hong Kong into an education
technology (EdTech) centre in the Greater Bay Area, introduce cutting-edge global
EdTech proposals, assist corporations with venturing into Asia and beyond,
facilitating collaboration between local enterprises, global EdTech
corporations and investors. Twelve finalists of the Edventures GBA Fellowship
2021 which are EdTech start-ups from Israel, Canada, India, Sweden, the United
Kingdom, the United States, and Hong Kong, will share their EdTech solutions.
The finalists of the Global EdTech Startup Award (China Final) will also be
selected at the Summit. Working with the world-renowned venture capital event
“Silicon Dragon”, CVCF recruits global investors and start-ups to explore
venture investment opportunities, connecting capital, innovation and
technology, entrepreneurship, and development opportunities.
Cyberport FinTech InnoCon
This
year’s Forum debuted the Cyberport FinTech InnoCon yesterday to present
in-depth discussions on the development of vertical sectors. The event brought
together more than 30 representatives from regulatory bodies, professional
organizations and start-ups. Under the theme, “Innovation
of FinTech Proof-of-Concept for Hong Kong Financial Services Industry”, the Conference deciphered emerging trends and opportunities for
technology application in various financial services areas, from RegTech,
InsurTech and ESG to cross-border finance in the Greater Bay Area. Innovative
case studies on financial institutions and start-ups participating in the
Fintech Proof-of-Concept Subsidy Scheme were examined at the event to
illustrate how innovation between traditional financial institutions and FinTech
companies create win-win situations. These partnerships promote digital
transformation that further consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s competitive
advantages as a leading international financial centre, asset management centre
and risk management centre.
To provide
start-ups with an all-round platform to explore venture opportunities, more
than 100 online booths will be featured until mid-November as part of the Forum
and its series of spotlight events. Through this platform, start-ups can
showcase their innovative technology solutions, participate in investor
matching and put forward project pitches.
More
information about the contents and speaker line-up of Cyberport Venture Capital
Forum 2021 is available at:
For high
resolution photos, please download HERE via this link
Image Captions:
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The
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Dr David Chung, Under Secretary for Innovation and
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Dr
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Cindy Chow, Chairperson of Cyberport Investors
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