(18 October 2022, Hong Kong) The Shanghai and Greater Bay Area (GBA) chapter of the five- day Metaverse Asia Expo Event held its opening ceremony at Cyberport Hong Kong and Metaverse today. Dennis Wu, Founding President of the Greater Bay Area Carbon Neutrality Association (GBACNA), delivered opening remark for the ceremony. The virtual nature of the event allowed exhibitors from all across the globe to participate, successfully overcoming geographical boundaries and reducing waste production and carbon emissions. Achieving carbon neutrality is a growing global public concern as well as one of the main goals laid out by national policy in recent years.
In his opening remark, Greater Bay Area Carbon Neutrality Association (GBACNA) founding president Dennis Wu said: “The Metaverse is a digitized extension of human society that takes place in an advanced, hybrid environment that bridges virtual and physical spaces. As such, as an essential pillar of sustainable development in modern society, carbon neutrality is related to the Metaverse as well. The Metaverse has the ability to drive innovation and is thus a major drivingforce in achieving carbon neutrality.”
As the Expo entered its second day, discussions on the Greater Bay Area and carbon neutrality were held, with topics including Metaverse for Business Leaders (Shanghai), Metaverse in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Metaverse and ESG/Carbon Neutrality, etc.
In the Metaverse for Business Leaders (Shanghai) session, Jianbin Gao, Mainland China TMT Industry Leader of PWC China, was one of the speakers in attendance. Gao said: “The expansive Metaverse environment creates various economic benefits to stakeholders and market participants. As such, businesses should dedicate talent and resources to understand the key underpinnings and mechanisms of the Metaverse. Operation structures and fundamental policies can then be developed when bridgeable gaps and long-term development opportunities are identified. Organization directors should also re-evaluate their core mission and competitive advantage when shifting operations onto the Metaverse. They should also aim for a seamless business experience by unifying its physical and digital operations.”
In the following session, Metaverse in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), speakers discussed the various applications of the Metaverse in the development of the Greater Bay Area as well as Hong Kong’s role and integration into the wider country’s development in the Metaverse space.
Dr. George So, President of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Economic and Trade Association said: “To encourage Hong Kong’s development as an international hub for Chinese cultural exchange, we can cultivate a corner of the Metaverse with distinct Chinese cultural underpinnings with the Greater Bay Area as its main driver. A sound legal framework that enables networked operations and the protection of intellectual property will provide a secure foundation for these enterprise activities. I believe that the Metaverse market in the Greater Bay Area has strong potential for momentum and growth, especially in industries such as art, game development, and commercial and business applications.”
There are two exhibition zones at the Expo with Metaverse technology and ESG / Use-cases / Funds as themes separately. Almost hundred exhibitors with booths can operate at different times to facilitate participation from different time zones. The Expo has met great enthusiasm from Asian exhibitors, ranging from technology, finance, start-ups to Metaverse ecosystem etc., including some of the renowned, large-scale enterprises, such as Virtway, Tappy, Newsight Imaging and PWC. Exhibitors will have the chance to showcase their latest products and technologies.
This novel Expo is supported by various professional organizations, including the Association of Blockchain Development (ABCD), Asia CEO Community, GBX, Allinial Global, HKTDC, Cyberport, InvestHK and GBA Carbon Neutrality Association etc.
The Expo will continue tomorrow (19 October). A seminar on Fintech for Metaverse will take place, featuring a talk to be delivered by King Leung,Head of FinTech, InvestHK. Other events include the Tappy Wallet product launch, as well as discussion sessions on Web 3.0 for Metaverse and NFTs for Metaverse. For more details, please see the attached Appendix.
Photo taking session of MAE 2022 organisers with Officiating Speaker, Mr. Dennis Wu and other speakers
Panel discussion session at Metaverse
The first Metaverse Asia Expo will be held through Metaverse and Cyberport O2O (online to offline) synchronously
Key Information
Date: Venue:
17 – 21 October 2022 ( Monday to Friday ) ( Online ) Metaverse ( Registration link: https://mae-reg.apacwebinar.com/?code=GREATMETA )
Content:
Keynote speeches and discussions by industry leaders sharing hot topics in Metaverse. Booths for transnational innotech enterprises displaying latest product and technology
Key attendees:
⚫ Dr Chan Pak-li Bernard, Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, HKSAR
Government
⚫ Amir Lati, Consul General of Israel to Hong Kong and Macau SAR
⚫ Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport
⚫ Patrick Lau, Deputy Executive Director of HKTDC
⚫ King Leung, Head of Fintech of InvestHK
⚫ Dennis Wu, Founding President of GBA Carbon Neutrality Association
Event website: Media registration and enquiry:
Louis Kwong +852 6775 6754 ( A-World Consulting )
