Themed "New Impetus for the New Economy", the two-day 3rd Internet Economy Summit (IES) will take place from tomorrow (April 12). Industry leaders, experts and entrepreneurs from multinational technology enterprises, leading Internet firms and "unicorn" start-ups will share their insights on the latest trends of the Internet economy and examine with the audience strategies for capturing the enormous opportunities that arise.

     Four forums, namely the Visionary Forum, the Chambers Forum: Business Breakthrough, the Entrepreneurship Forum and the Technovation Forum, have been tailored for the Summit to explore the interactive development among the Internet and innovation and technology as well as the economy. Over 50 speakers will dive into the agenda, encompassing areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), smart city, data industry, cloud technology and e-commerce and enlighten the industry on how to seize the chances ahead.

     The Summit will bring together top minds in the industry including the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, who is a veteran in economic and financial development; the Chairman of International Technologies, Mr Yossi Vardi, who as a veteran Israeli entrepreneur has established and sponsored over 80 hi-tech companies; Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Illumio as well as cyber security expert Mr Andrew Rubin; and the Chief Technology Officer of Didi Chuxing, Mr Bob Zhang, who is a specialist in AI. They will address the Summit from the perspectives of the global economy, innovation and entrepreneurship, cyber security and new technology respectively. Experts from renowned enterprises such as Google, IBM, JD.com, Amazon, Ping An Technology, Facebook, Microsoft, Alibaba Cloud and Huawei Technologies will also present their thoughts and experience at the Summit.

     The Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Allen Yeung, said, "Powered by innovation and technology advancement, the Internet applications have evolved rapidly in recent years. It is now the fuel for economic prosperity and agent for transformation of society. I hope that through this annual flagship Summit, the brilliant sharing by speakers will enlighten the business sectors in the area of digital transformation, which will eventually boost their competitiveness."

     The IES is organised by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, with the China Internet Development Foundation as the supporting organisation.
 
     The summit agenda and speaker information are available at the IES website (www.ieconomysummit.hk). 

Ends/Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Issued at HKT 18:48

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