The February 2024 Hong Kong tech news snapshot captured items and developments including a high-profile, high-impact deepfake video cyber-scam, coverage of a Hong Kong AI-and-blockchain insurance tech startup, the upcoming WOW Summit in Hong Kong for all things Web3, and more.
Hit the links below to read each Hong Kong tech news article from February 2024 in full.
For more technology news from across Asia and the Indo-Pacific, you should take a look at our daily editions and weekly newsletters.
The Decoding China dictionary: Terms, meanings, framing
- An as-yet unnamed multinational lost $25.6M after Hong Kong branch employees were fooled by deepfake tech, partly featuring a digitally-recreated version of its CFO ordering money transfers in a video call
- Hong Kong: MediConCen secured $6.85M Series A with automation of insurance claims using AI and blockchain, with HSBC Asset Management leading the round
- Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce proposes issuance of ‘RMB stablecoins or stablecoins backed by a basket of different currencies, including RMB, in addition to HKD or USD stablecoins’
“Hong Kong will see 615 new CCTV cameras set up at “black spots” next month as part of police efforts to enhance surveillance for crime detection and prevention, Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu said in an interview with TVB last Sunday.”
“The legislator asked about the total number of devices, where they were installed, the retention period of video clips, and whether the devices had auto-tracking and facial detection functions.”
“The government did not maintain such statistics on the cameras, Lee said at the time, adding that information on the camera systems involved “security matters.” Disclosing such information might unveil the government’s security arrangements and the investigatory techniques of law enforcement agencies to criminals, the minister said.”
- Hong Kong: An overview of Klook travel super-app following a $210M round that took the firm to $900M valuation, built on a market base of millennials and Gen Z across SE Asia
- Hong Kong: WOW3 Summit 2024 set for March 26-27, looking at all things Web3 – blockchain, crypto, bitcoin ETFs and more
- “Prices of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4090… are soaring across Asian markets as people are willing to pay hefty sums of cash for them and then resell them in China or Hong Kong at a higher price…”
Hong Kong: “…in the past three years (from 2021 to 2023), the total number of crimes involving virtual assets was 1397, 2336 and 3415 cases worth 824 million, 1.704 billion and 4.398 billion yuan.”
- India: Hong Kong’s Clearbot marine-tech startup to launch a fleet of solar-powered autonomous boats to help clear river and ocean-borne pollution in India’s rivers
- Huawei cloud services to expand footprint with new data centres and launch of cloud service in Egypt, and AI-focused cloud computing centre in Hong Kong
MERICS: Fragmenting Cyberspace – The future of the internet in China
Asia’s tech news: Other editions
MERICS: Chinese state-affiliated hacking for strategic goals
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