Hong Kong backs start-ups at VivaTech in Paris amid push to promote city as ‘springboard'
Hong Kong is making its presence known at a major tech conference in Paris this week, as the city looks to forge closer business ties with Europe amid its efforts to become an innovation hub.
The government-funded Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) will support 18 of its start-ups at the VivaTech trade show in Paris this week, aiming to find partnerships and investments, and to help their market expansion in Europe, HKSTP chief marketing officer Hilda Chan said in an interview last week.
'We want to showcase the diversity and the strength of our start-ups from Hong Kong to develop on a global stage,' Chan said.
In total, the city will feature 20 local start-ups, including 18 from HKSTP and two from Cyberport, at the Hong Kong Tech Pavilion at VivaTech, which runs from June 11 to 14.
The HKSTP delegation includes wearable start-up PointFit, which offers a sweat-sensing skin patch that monitors a person's fatigue level for fitness training purposes.
The company, founded in Hong Kong in 2020, counts Hong Kong and Singapore as its biggest markets in Asia, but is aiming to find more clients in Europe, especially among sports teams, according to its co-founder and CEO Kenny Oktavious.
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