More Than 150 Web3 Firms Set up Operations in Hong Kong Last Year

More than 150 Web3 companies have established operations in Hong Kong’s Cyberport, a technology business park backed by the Hong Kong government, in the last year only, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong Paul Chan Mo-po said. 

Chan Mo-po attributed the growth in the number of Web3 firms in the Cyberport to the Hong Kong government investment of 50 million yuan ($7 million) to help the business hub to speed up the development of Web3 with blockchain as the supporting technology.

He explained that the government allocated 500 million Hong Kong dollars ($64 million) for Cyberport to implement the “Digital Transformation Support Pilot Program”, which uses a one-to-one matching funding model to help small and medium-sized enterprises apply ready-made basic digital supporting solutions, which will be launched soon.

Cyberport, which is owned by the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, has currently more than 1,900 community enterprises.

This year, a new Hong Kong-based fund has been established by local investors aiming to raise $100 million this year to support Web3 startups, according to Bloomberg.

The new fund, named ProDigital Future, has completed its half-year fundraising period and secured at least $30 million in funding commitments. It is being led by Curt Shi, a long-time tech investor, and Ben Ng, a partner at Hong Kong-based equity firm SAIF Partners.

Companies like Golin International Group and Sunwah Kingsway Capital Holdings have already contributed to the fund.

Additionally, the Hong Kong Police launched in May a metaverse platform to educate people about the opportunities and threats related to Web3 and metaverse. The Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) of the police launched CyberDefender Metaverse to make citizens aware and prepare them for challenges in the digital age by paying attention to fighting technological crimes.