Hong Kong Events Spotlight IP Financing and Startup Growth in Asia

The 15th Business of IP Asia Forum and 17th Entrepreneur Day opened at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, bringing together over 180 speakers and more than 420 startups, innovative projects, and support organizations. These events aim to advance innovation and technology exchange while reinforcing Hong Kong's position as a super-connector for regional and global collaboration.

HKTDC Executive Director Sophia Chong emphasized that robust IP protection encourages investment in research and development and commercialization of new ideas. She noted that multi-stakeholder collaboration across government, industry, and academia helps translate intellectual property into measurable economic impact. Hong Kong, as a regional center for IP trading and international innovation hub, is taking the lead in supporting this vital sector's sustainability.

This year's Forum, themed "Leverage IP to Finance Business Growth," examines IP's role as a core driver of sustainable expansion. The keynote session on "IP Valuation and Financing" featured insights from industry leaders about how enterprises can leverage IP assets as a source of capital. Another plenary session, "Propelling Sustainability with IP," explored how companies can strategically deploy intellectual property to achieve sustainability goals and accelerate industrial standardization.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau shared Hong Kong's efforts to strengthen its role as a regional IP trading center. He highlighted the expansion of the patent examiner team, modernization of the Copyright Ordinance and registered designs regime, and business-matching programs connecting Mainland enterprises with Hong Kong's world-class IP service providers. Yau emphasized that the "IP financing sandbox" turns these elements into financeable, scalable reality.

A session co-organized with the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation, titled "Cross-Border Empowerment: Forging a New IP-Driven Investment Ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area," focused on regional collaboration, cross-border IP protection, and financing strategies to help enterprises scale from the GBA to global markets. For the first time, the Forum introduced an "IP Go-Global Business Matching Session," allowing local professional service providers and IP lawyers to offer one-on-one consultations to Mainland enterprises covering trademark and patent registration, enforcement, litigation, international licensing, and dispute resolution.

Entrepreneur Day, continuing with the theme "Where Start-up Dreams Take Flight," brought together over 360 startups, inventor projects, and support organizations from 11 countries and regions. Exhibits spanned six major tech categories: AI, healthtech, cybersecurity, construction & logistics, spatial computing, and sustainability. The event featured three key exhibition zones: the "Start-up and Innovation Zone," the "University Spin-off," and "The Boosters," which offers one-stop support for startups.

The GBA Tripartite Roundtable explored opportunities for Greater Bay Area startups to tap into ASEAN and global markets. Intan Zalani, Consul (Trade) of Malaysia in Hong Kong, highlighted opportunities in Malaysia's digital payments landscape and renewable energy sector, noting attractive tax incentives for green technology investments. She emphasized Malaysia's strategic position as ASEAN's natural hub and Hong Kong's role as super-connector, inviting GBA entrepreneurs to capture the US$1 trillion ASEAN digital economy opportunity by 2030.

Yeye Xiao, Innovation Consulting Manager & Central Asia Lead of Hello Tomorrow, advised deep-tech founders to think about commercialization from day one, suggesting they "design for manufacturing, supply chain, testing, and scaling" while leveraging public ecosystems and free infrastructure instead of spending everything on private labs.

The events showcase Hong Kong's comprehensive approach to supporting innovation, with resources like the Business of IP Asia Forum platform, Entrepreneur Day portal, and Start-up Express International program creating pathways for businesses to access capital, partnerships, and global networks. Together, these initiatives reinforce Hong Kong's positioning as Asia's hub for innovation and intellectual property development.