Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (HKETO), Ms Emily Mo, spoke at the “Opportunities in the Healthcare Sector in Asia in the new normal for Canadian companies” webinar co-hosted by the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (HKCBA) (Ottawa Section) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Canada on June 3. The webinar discussed the future of the healthcare sector from business and innovation perspectives, including the rising healthcare market in Asia, the healthcare investment landscape in Hong Kong and its strategic role in the region.
In delivering the welcome remarks, Ms Mo pointed out that Hong Kong has become the world’s second largest fundraising hub for biotechnology companies. “Since mid-2018, 43 pre-revenue biotech companies have listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising a total of over 50 billion USD, which accounts for about 40% of the total IPO funds raised in the period. These companies have a combined market capitalisation of over 1.5 trillion USD, accounting for about a quarter of the current total market capitalisation in Hong Kong,” Ms Mo said.
Ms Mo also introduced the “InnoHK Research Clusters” which is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s flagship project in the development of innovation and technology in healthcare. “The project attracted many top-notch universities and research institutions, including the University of Waterloo, and the first batch of about 20 research and development laboratories already commenced operation in the first quarter of this year,” Ms Mo continued.
Hong Kong is the best destination for the landing of international companies and their access to the capital opportunities offered by the mainland of China and Asia. “For example, Canada’s Intact Insurance opened its first international AI research centre and second office in Hong Kong in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Benefitting from Hong Kong’s diversity and proximity to exceptional AI talent and the Asian market, the company plans to continue its expansion in Hong Kong in the coming months,” Ms Mo said.
Before closing, Ms Mo encouraged companies in Canada and other parts of the world to use the Hong Kong platform to seize opportunities in the healthcare sector in Asia and beyond. She also highlighted the HKSAR Government’s recent proposal in creating a new pathway to allow non-locally trained doctors to apply for full registration in Hong Kong.
Moderated by Board Director of HKCBA (Ottawa Section), Ms Sandra Wu, other speakers
Canada Research Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Medical Imaging of University of Waterloo Dr Alexander Wong, Associate Scientist of the Ottawa Hospital and Region Imaging Associates Dr Andre Carrington and Head of Innovation and Technology of InvestHK Mr Andy Wong.
香港經貿處處長參與網上研討會探討亞洲醫療保健界的機遇
香港駐多倫多經濟貿易辦事處（香港經貿處）處長巫菀菁於六月三日出席由港加商會（渥太華分會）及香港貿易發展局加拿大辦事處合辦的「加拿大企業於新常態下在亞洲醫療保健界的機遇」 網上研討會並致辭。該研討會旨在從商業及創新科技的角度探討醫療保健界的未來發展，包括在亞洲發展迅速的醫療保健市場、香港的醫療保健投資前景及香港在地區發揮的策略性角色。
巫菀菁在致歡迎辭時指出，香港已成為全球第二大生物科技公司的融資中心。她表示：「自2018年年中以來，已有43家未有收入的生物科技公司在港交所上市，募集資金總額超過500億美元，佔同期首次公開招股募集資金總額約40%。這些公司的總市值超過 1.5 萬億美元，佔香港目前總市值約四分之一。」
巫菀菁同時介紹香港特別行政區（香港特區）政府的醫療創新及科技發展旗艦項目「InnoHK創新香港研發平台」。巫菀菁說：「該項目吸引了許多世界知名的學府及研發機構包括滑鐵盧大學，首批約20家研發實驗所已於今年首季投入運作。」
香港是國際企業擴展的首選目的地，有利它們在中國內地及亞洲獲得融資機會。巫菀菁舉例說：「加拿大Intact保險公司分別於二Ｏ二Ｏ及二Ｏ二一年在香港設立首間國際人工智能研究中心和第二個辦事處。受惠於香港的優勢包括，多元化的特質、擁有優秀的人工智能人才，以及鄰近亞洲市場，該公司計劃未來數月會繼續在香港拓展業務。」
最後，巫菀菁鼓勵加拿大及其他地方的公司善用香港平台，把握亞洲及其他地區的醫療保健界的商機。她亦簡述香港特區政府最近提出建議，為合資格的非本地培訓醫生另闢途徑，在香港取得正式註冊資格。
網上研討會由港加商會（渥太華分會）董事Sandra Wu主持，其他講者包括滑鐵盧大學的加拿大人工智能及醫學影像技術研究所主席Alexander Wong博士、渥太華醫院地區影像技術副科學研究員Andre Carrington博士和香港投資推廣署創新及科技行業主管黃煒卓。
