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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, at the LAUNCH Consumer IoT Summit today (January 27):
Manav (the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brinc, Mr Manav Gupta), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is a great pleasure for me to be here to inaugurate this exciting LAUNCH Consumer IoT Summit powered by Brinc. I would like to extend my warm welcome to you all here, and a special welcome to those of you folks who have flown all the way to Hong Kong for this IoT Summit.
It is great to see the global IoT (Internet of Things) ecosystem including start-ups, entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem players gathering here in Hong Kong. I would like to congratulate Brinc for initiating this excellent summit as part of Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK)'s StartmeupHK Festival. Manav, Bay and the team at Brinc, well done!
According to a research by the McKinsey Global Institute in 2015, the IoT industry has an estimated economic potential of $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion annually by 2025. Amazingly, start-ups and makers, rather than tech providers or consumer goods corporations, will be the driving force in the growth in the IoT. A research by Gartner in 2014 forecasted that, by 2017, half of the IoT solutions will be developed by start-ups with less than three years in operation.
With this in mind, the LAUNCH Summit presents an opportunity for everyone to participate in a global conversation on the next wave of technological revolution, that is IoT. In the next two days, you will have a chance to connect with entrepreneurs, investors, start-ups and senior level executives. Keynote sessions and panellists will offer insights from insiders at global brands and start-ups including Tesla, Samsung, DJI, Microsoft, Li & Fung and more. I myself will be eager to hear their views on the Internet's next big thing. I hope you enjoy all the thought-provoking discussions today at this Consumer IoT Summit.
The StartmeupHK Festival this week has a full calendar of after-hours fireside chats and networking events awaiting for you. I hope you will take advantage of these StartmeupHK events to build friendship and explore opportunities for collaboration and investment. My colleagues from InvestHK stand ready to provide support to those of you who wish to set up a presence in Hong Kong. Your support is essential for us to promote Hong Kong as the leading consumer IoT start-up destination and to attract overseas entrepreneurs and investors to set up in our city.
Last but not least, I would like to congratulate all the winners who have participated in the LAUNCH Consumer IoT Competition and wish you all the best for your pitch in the next two days.
I wish you all have an awesome rest of the week. Thank you.
Ends/Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Issued at HKT 11:06
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