HKSTP Partners with Japan External Trade Organization to Encourage Japanese Technology Startups to Establish Foothold in Hong Kong

Dr Claudia Xu, Chief Commercial Officer of HKSTP (first from the left) and Mr Tomohiro Takashima, Director General, JETRO Hong Kong (second from the left) were pleased to connect the Japanese startups with local investors in the HKSTP InnoExpress X JETRO Innovation Programme.

Hong Kong - 18 September, 2019 - Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) co-organised the “HKSTP InnoExpress X JETRO Innovation Programme” for the first time in Hong Kong. The one-day forum cum investor pitching event is tailor-made for Japanese technology startups to explore opportunities in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA). In the event, HKSTP also announced the HKSTP InnoExpress programme, which is designed to encourage overseas technology rising stars to tap into the China market. 

Sharing the same aspiration as HKSTP to nurture technology startups, JETRO brought a delegation of nine selected Japanese companies in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Augmented Reality, Healthcare, FinTech, Data Analytics and Electronics under JETRO Innovation Programme (JIP) to gather at HKSTP @Wheelock Gallery. Through the event, the Japanese startups met guest speakers from Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, HSBC and PwC, explored business opportunities in Hong Kong and learned about the city’s edge in innovation and technology development. They also presented their innovative solutions and exchanged ideas with local investors and venture capitalists during the pitching and networking sessions. 

HKSTP’s new InnoExpress programme helps technology companies intending to expand businesses into the Hong Kong and GBA markets quickly grasp the keys to setting up operations in the area. The programme provides international startups with tailored support and guidance about visas and immigration, taxation, government grants and support, fund raising, talent recruitment, go-to-market strategies, policies and regulations, and supply chains for selected industries. 

Dr Claudia Xu, Chief Commercial Officer of HKSTP, said, “We are pleased to see the JETRO Innovation Programme hosted in Hong Kong for the first time, and that Hong Kong is the sole city in East Asia serving as a JETRO Innovation Hot Spot. The city has unique advantages in terms of our physical proximity to the Mainland, particularly the GBA, yet maintaining an independent legal system and financial markets. Hong Kong can provide highly competitive and sophisticated business services to help overseas companies expand into the enormous GBA marketplace and the entire Mainland. Our new programme InnoExpress will take international startups on a fast track to this vast land of opportunities.”

The JIP delegation to Hong Kong will visit Shenzhen after the event. JIP is one of JETRO’s important projects to support the overseas expansion of Japanese small and medium-sized companies and startups with innovative technologies, products and intellectual property. This project started in 2015. Since then, JETRO has successfully supported many Japanese startups to go global. This year, the programme is held in Shanghai, Silicon Valley and Bangkok, as well as Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

List of participating Japanese startups