October 25, 2019

SCMP Redefining Hong Kong - The Future of Payments

The South China Morning Post recently asked me to host a roundtable discussion on "Redefining Hong Kong - The Future of Payments". Here is their summary of the findings. 

Hong Kong was one of the first places in the world to introduce a cashless payment system when the Octopus card was launched in 1997. While little has changed in the city's digital payments ecosystem, other countries around the world have raced ahead in the drive towards cashless economies.

What can be done to help Hong Kong catch up in the mobile payment industry?

Key suggestions from the Redefining Hong Kong audience.


Panelists: (from left) The South China Morning Post's technology reporter Zen Soo; Managing Partner, Asia Pacific FinTech and Innovation Financial Services, EY, Effie Xin; Chief Executive Officer of Octopus Holdings Limited Sunny Cheung Yiu-tong; and Decathlon Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer Marc Zielinski.


1. Hong Kong needs a mindset change

A panel of experts played down the notion that mainland China is much more advanced than Hong Kong in terms of the technology of mobile payments, saying it was more of a 'perception' issue among consumers.




2. YES, YES, YES!

It is no surprise that everyone in the audience agrees that we need to move further to a cashless society, but the question is, how?



3. Convenience, incentives and improve the process

Is Hong Kong ready to go cashless - perhaps we should go coinless first? Audience members have suggested that incentivising and improving the process will help encourage consumers' adoption to digital payments.



4. Data, privacy and regulation

There are concerns around privacy and data in Hong Kong. One of the key questions is who owns the data in Hong Kong? It seems that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has made it really clear but more regulatory clarity on the usage of data and whether the government has access to that data still needs to be given. People are willing to give their data in exchange for convenience and better product development, but more transparency is needed on how the data is used after it's collected.



A BIG THANK YOU to our platinum sponsor, EY, speakers and roundtable facilitators for their support of our Redefining Hong Kong series.

October 22, 2019

Tech Titans of China at Web Wednesday (V120)

All of us who work in tech in Asia know that China is fast becoming the powerhouse that is driving much of the digital innovation, especially in ecommerce, fintech, drones, news and entertainment.

There are disputes as to whether it leads in artificial intelligence, which has become the new battlefield for global dominance.

To help us look under the hood and uncover some stirring truths, we've invited veteran tech journalist, media entrepreneur and China watcher, Rebecca Fannin, to speak about her new book, "Tech Titans of China".


Rebecca has drawn her conclusions from interviews of the top executives from China’s venture and tech ecosystem, including bustling incubators, accelerators, workshops, and networking events. She will share her findings on why she believes China has leapfrogged the U.S. in key areas. One of her sources claims that “China is going to eat Silicon Valley’s lunch.”

Our hosts for this special event will be LinkedIn who's super cool offices are located on 38th Floor of Hysan Place, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. (Find Hysan Place on Google Maps).


Doors open at 6:30pm with the interview beginning at 7:20pm. We wrap up at 9pm.  Space is limited so please pre-register here.

NOTE: The usual door charge will be waived, thanks to our event sponsors at LinkedIn, but all guests will be required to pre-register via the form below in order to attend. See who else is coming via our communities on LinkedIn (1,620 members), Facebook Group (4,888 members), Facebook Page (1,552 likes) and MeetUp (892 members).