Hong Kong tech news in 2023’s second quarter captures items including the black and grey market in Hong Kong for US-sanctioned chips, Hong Kong’s ongoing bid for global cryptocurrency hub status, HK’s China-driven moves to ban the ‘Glory to Hong Kong‘ democracy protest song, and more.
Hit the monthly links below – April, May & June – to read Q2 2023 tech news from Hong Kong, in full, online and free-of-charge.
in June 2023 | in May 2023 | in April 2023
• Plus: Asia’s tech news today / weekly newsletters >
Hong Kong tech news
quarterly: June 2023
- Hong Kong: Prenetics genomics and precision oncology firm partners professor for Insighta early cancer detection screening JV, with 5000-patient clinical trial set for early 2024
- Hong Kong: Bank of China investment arm and UBS issue tokenized, regulated security in HK, adding regulated securities onto main, public Ethereum blockchain
“While buying or selling high-end US chips is not illegal in China, US export restrictions have created a de facto underground market with vendors keen not to draw scrutiny from either US or Chinese authorities.”
“But, as AI booms across the globe after the runaway success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, demand for high-end chips has rocketed, particularly for Nvidia’s microprocessors which are widely regarded as the best at handling machine-learning tasks.”
“We are talking with two vendors now to get some,” said Ivan Lau, co-founder of Hong Kong’s Pantheon Lab who is trying to purchase 2-4 new A100 cards to run the startup’s latest AI models.”
- Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands partners Japan’s Mitsui trading firm for Web3 in Japan, gaining access to assets spanning industrial and consumer firms, partner and customer networks
- Hong Kong gov’t launches court bid to prevent internet platforms from hosting ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ song, lyrics, melody or video, criminalizing those who post
CSIS: Mapping semiconductor supply chains – Indo-Pacific’s importance
Hong Kong Tech News
quarterly: May 2023
- Hong Kong: CMCC Global VC firm to launch $100M fund to back startups focused on blockchain projects across Asia
- Hong Kong: Artifact Labs NFT and digital asset firm gains $3.25M in part from Animoca Ventures, with minting on multiple chains and sights on developing its own blockchain-based market infrastructure
“Artifact was born out of South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s flagship English newspaper bought by Alibaba for $262 million back in 2015. Its first project comprised non-fungible token versions of SCMP’s front pages from 1997, the year of Hong Kong’s handover, with each item’s rarity level determined by the significance of a certain day’s events.”
- Hong Kong: Liminal digital wallet infrastructure and asset custodial services firm gains TCSP Licence from HK Companies Registry, confirming regulatory compliance
- Hong Kong: 1,408 victims collectively lost HK$26.1M from January to March this year to phishing and other cyber-scams
- Hong Kong: Amazon Web Services partners The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong to establish Cloud Innovation School
- ICYMI: European Union proposes sanctions on companies from China and Hong Kong selling equipment that could be used in weapons to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
RadWare Live Cyber Threats Map
Hong Kong tech news
quarterly: April 2023
- Hong Kong startup, i2Cool, takes Gold Award at TERA-Award Smart Energy Innovation Competition with electricity-free cooling tech
- Hong Kong and Hangzhou ink MOUs around cooperation in and promotion of digital trade and Web3 technologies
- Hong Kong: QUANTier quantum computing startup gains backing to develop room-temperature infrastructure for quantum computers
- China: Cainiao, Alibaba’s $20BN logistics arm, sets sights on Hong Kong IPO, the first of Alibaba’s 6 recently-calved business units to go public
- State-run China Mobile reportedly considering purchase of Hong Kong Broadband Network, HK’s largest telco
“But Russia has continued to acquire chips through circuitous routes, with a large portion flowing through small traders in Hong Kong and mainland China.”
CSET: Mapping emerging technologies and their supply chains
ASIA’S TECH NEWS: DAILY & e-newsletters
For ongoing updates on tech news headlines from across Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific:
- Asia tech news, daily:
- Asia tech newsletters, weekly:
