Hong Kong to Host Dual IP and Entrepreneurship Events in December, Focusing on Business Growth and Innovation

The 15th Business of IP Asia Forum and 17th HKTDC Entrepreneur Day will take place December 4-5 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, bringing together innovators, investors, professionals, and policymakers from around the world. Co-organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, these flagship events aim to foster cross-sector collaboration while strengthening Hong Kong's role as a regional intellectual property trading centre and international innovation hub.

Patrick Lau, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director, emphasized Hong Kong's advantages as an IP trading platform, citing its sound legal system, deep capital markets, and robust IP protection regime. The concurrent events create synergy from supporting startups to facilitating IP commercialization, helping translate innovation into real-world applications that advance Hong Kong's innovation, technology, and IP development.

This year's BIP Asia Forum, themed "Leverage IP to Finance Business Growth," features more than 100 speakers exploring IP's potential for corporate development and financing. A keynote session on "IP Valuation and Financing" will examine how IP can be converted into viable capital sources, with speakers including banking regulators, financial institution representatives, and valuation experts. The Global Tech Summit session "Unlocking Value: Intellectual Property and Investment Opportunities in AI Innovations" will feature investors sharing key AI investment trends and exploring IP's future landscape within AI innovation.

Diverse thematic sessions will address sustainability, data licensing, and economic opportunities. The plenary session "Propelling Sustainability with IP" focuses on IP's strategic role in accelerating sustainability and elevating industry standards. Breakout sessions include "Opportunities and Risks of Data Licensing" addressing data copyrights and privacy compliance, and "IP-driven Transformation of Hong Kong Brands" examining how local brands leverage IP to transform business models and enhance market penetration.

The ASEAN Session, co-organized by the ASEAN Secretariat and Hong Kong's Intellectual Property Department, will focus on patent commercialization and technology transfer between ASEAN economies and Hong Kong. Special addresses will be delivered by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and Li Shengjun from China's National Intellectual Property Administration.

Entrepreneur Day continues under the theme "Where Start-up Dreams Take Flight," featuring more than 350 startups, innovation projects, and support organizations across six technology verticals: Artificial Intelligence, Health Tech, Cyber Security, Construction and Logistics, Spatial Computing and Sustainability. The event combines exhibitions with business matching and seminars, serving as a dynamic platform connecting innovators, investors, and ecosystem partners.

Multiple pavilions will showcase innovation, including the "Innovation Hong Kong Pavilion" featuring 30 award-winning projects from the Hong Kong ICT Awards and a pavilion hosted by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau showcasing over 40 startups supported by Greater Bay Area youth entrepreneurship funding. The Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions will feature more than 130 innovative projects from across Asia, while nine Hong Kong universities will exhibit their latest research outcomes and startup ventures.

E-Day's seminar program covers four main tracks with discussions spanning artificial intelligence, green energy, deeptech, sustainable fashion, and youth entrepreneurship. A roundtable titled "Empowering GBA Startups to Expand into ASEAN with Hong Kong as a Super-connector and Super Value-adder" will focus on opportunities for Greater Bay Area startups to expand into ASEAN and international markets, analyzing how Hong Kong's financial strength, legal expertise, and strategic support can facilitate cross-border collaboration.

The Start-up Express International program returns, attracting promising overseas startups to establish presence in Hong Kong and use the city as a springboard to access regional markets. Ten outstanding startups selected earlier this year will join a sharing and networking session on December 4. DesignInspire will be held concurrently from December 3-6, bringing together design professionals and creating additional business opportunities. More information about the events is available at https://bipasia.hktdc.com/en/ and https://portal.hktdc.com/eday/en, with details about the startup program at https://portal.hktdc.com/startupexpress/en/s/start-up-express-international.