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Food Expo PRO returns in August with Hong Kong International Tea Fair

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Food Expo PRO

Exploring Tasty Ideas for Food Business
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 19 June 2024 – Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Food Expo PRO and Hong Kong International Tea Fair will be staged concurrently from 15 to 17 August 2024 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The fairs feature global foods and beverages, tea, and related products, providing a one-stop sourcing platform for F&B importers, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, department stores and e-tailers. The fairs open exclusively to trade buyers on the first two days, and welcome public ticket-holders on 17 August. The concurrent public fairs, Food Expo, Beauty & Wellness Expo, and Home Delights Expo will be staged at the same venue from 15 to 19 August. The five fairs are expected to gather some 2,000 exhibitors.

Register now for FREE admission e-badge: https://sourl.cn/RbKchp

Food Expo PRO: Asia’s key trade event for F&B
Food Expo PRO continues to present pavilions from various countries and regions this year. Besides pavilions from Mainland China, Japan, Korea and Mexico, ASEAN countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines will also participate, creating an international food festival. Sustainable diet has become a hot topic in the industry in recent years. Highlighted zone “Food Science and Technology” brings alternative food and future food products to our professional buyers. Another highlight would be the presence of “Halal Food & Beverage”.

Ready-meals market is also booming. Food Expo PRO features an array of easy‑to‑prepare ready meals by exhibitors from Mainland China, including unique flavours from different regions. Provinces in Mainland China, including Fujian, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan, Zhejiang, etc. are expected to bring their local delicacies to Hong Kong and showcase to our professional buyers.

Food Expo PRO also features a variety of seminars and forums covering the latest developments and market opportunities in the food industry. The Food Tech Symposium sessions will bring together speakers to share their insights and to discuss the latest technological advancement and innovations in food manufacturing, future food and sustainability in the food industry. Recognising the promising landscape of the Halal Market, this year’s Food Expo PRO will aim to examine its development, opportunities and challenges, as well as conducting a thorough discussion to explore the role of Hong Kong in facilitating Halal food trade in the region.

Hong Kong International Tea Fair: Brewing opportunities in tea business
The concurrent Hong Kong International Tea Fair brings together a wide variety of products including tea and tea-related products, and tea ware. The 1st International Tea Event Space Design Competition 2024 aims to promote tea culture. Participants can present their creative tea-serving space designs through the competition, and the shortlisted designs will be displayed and judged during the fair. Another fair highlight is Hong Kong International Tea Competition. Exhibitors’ teas will be judged in six categories: Green Tea, Oolong Tea, Black Tea (Orthodox), Chinese Black Tea (Treated Pu’er), Raw Pu’er, Others (White Tea / Yellow Tea / Scented Tea) *(excl. Herbal Tea). A panel of judges will present winners with “The Best Aroma Award” and “The Best Taste Award”. Visitors can enjoy free tea tasting of winning teas on 17 August. To promote the unique culture of Hong Kong style milk tea, International and Greater Bay Area KamCha Competition – Final will also be run during the Hong Kong International Tea Fair 2024. The top tea masters will be selected to showcase their techniques in making Hong Kong style milk tea and its exquisite flavours.

Each day at the fair is filled with different activities and events. The 1st Hong Kong International Tea Culture Forum 2024 will be held on 16 August, the purpose of this forum is to create an international platform for communication, promote tea culture, and drive the international development of the tea industry. Other events, such as Tea Tasting Sessions and International Tea Art Performances, offer a fascinating look at the history and culture of tea. The ‘International and GBA KamCha Competition – HK Style Milk Tea Final’ will be held during the Hong Kong International Tea Fair, aiming to select the top Hong Kong-style milk tea masters, showcase the skills and unique flavours of Hong Kong-style milk tea production, and promote Hong Kong-style milk tea culture.

The two fairs will continue to adopt the HKTDC’s EXHIBITION+ model that integrates online and offline elements, extending face-to-face interactions from physical events to smart business platform, Click2Match, which will be open to participants from 8 to 24 August.

In addition, the International Conference of the Modernization of Chinese Medicine and Health Products (ICMCM), organised by the Modernized Chinese Medicine International Association (MCMIA), together with the HKTDC and eleven scientific research institutions and industry associations, will be held at the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre on 15 and 16 August to deliver professional traditional Chinese medicine insights into the industry.

Websites:
Food Expo PRO
foodexpopro.hktdc.com
Hong Kong International Tea Fair
hkteafair.hktdc.com
ICMCM
icmcm.hktdc.com

Concurrent public fairs:
Food Expo
hkfoodexpo.hktdc.com
Beauty & Wellness Expo
hkbeautyexpo.hktdc.com
Home Delights Expo
homedelights.hktdc.com

Events

China’s digital hub Hangzhou hosts conference on AI, OPC

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OPC

HANGZHOU, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 June 2026 – The inaugural AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference was held from June 29 to 30 in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province. Centered on one-person company (OPC), a new form of smart economy in the AI era, the conference program comprised one opening ceremony and two parallel breakout sessions.

It gathered around 400 delegates from government departments, industry associations, financial institutions, AI enterprises and OPC startup operators across the country. Participants exchanged insights on AI innovation pathways and cross-industry integration strategies, injecting strong impetus into Hangzhou’s ambition to develop a national benchmark hub for AI+OPC entrepreneurship.

A series of key launches and milestone ceremonies took place during the opening segment. Official releases included the 2026 national OPC development observation report, Hangzhou’s 2026–2028 action plan and supporting policies to build a national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub, and a catalog of actionable AI+OPC application scenarios. Attendees also received an in-depth interpretation of the specifications for AI-enabled OPC community services and evaluation.

The ceremony featured multiple landmark initiatives: plaque awarding for Hangzhou’s priority AI+OPC incubation communities and dedicated observation sites, the official launch of the AI+OPC Community Alliance initiative, and a kickoff marking the official construction of the national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub.

The open forum session featured keynote speeches from distinguished industry and academic leaders. Speakers included Pan Yunhe, former executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Zhejiang University; Liang Gui, former executive vice governor of Jiangxi Province and ex-director of the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and Zou Ling, head of Hong Hub, Shangcheng District’s single-member unicorn startup acceleration community, who shared cutting-edge insights from varied perspectives.

A panel dialogue followed, bringing together representatives from Moshu OPC Community (Beijing E-Town), the School of Future Science and Engineering at Soochow University, Qingju Hub · Future Digital Intelligence Port (Shangcheng District), and Puhua Capital for in-depth industry exchanges.

Complementary concurrent events held throughout the conference included an OPC capital-industry matchmaking salon, a symposium on industry-education integration for AI-powered OPC sectors, and a national exchange forum for AI+OPC community practitioners.

OPC has emerged as a vibrant new engine driving economic vitality and underpinning high-quality development. Against the backdrop of a new development era, the inaugural Hangzhou AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference unites OPC innovators nationwide.

Drawing on the creative energy of millions of independent super-individual operators, the event delivers sustained digital momentum to fuel Hangzhou’s super-individual economy, while rolling out replicable local practices and actionable Hangzhou solutions to advance high-quality growth of smart economies nationwide.

 

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Business

Hainan FTP marks 6-month milestone of special customs operations, signs deals during Hong Kong visit

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Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – As the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) marked the six-month milestone since the launch of its full special customs operations, a Hainan provincial delegation wrapped up a three-day visit to Hong Kong. During the visit, the delegation signed deepened cooperation agreements with several major local chambers of commerce and promoted the latest policies introduced since the island-wide special customs operations took effect.

According to data released by Hainan Province during the visit, Hainan’s foreign trade has surged since the launch of special customs operations. As of June 17, the province’s total goods imports and exports reached RMB 173.98 billion (approximately US$24 billion), up 54.6% year on year. Imports of zero-tariff goods hit RMB 2.645 billion, a 120% jump that generated tariff savings of RMB 440 million. A total of 172,100 new market entities were registered—a 61% increase—including 1,240 foreign-invested enterprises. Zero-tariff items now account for 74% of all tariff lines, benefiting more than 12,000 market entities.

During the Hong Kong visit, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Provincial Committee (CCPIT Hainan) signed separate deepened cooperation MOUs with the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Under the MOUs, the parties will establish a regular liaison mechanism for the periodic exchange of economic and trade information, and will promote collaboration in areas including professional services, green finance, the digital economy, supply chain management, and cultural tourism. Mutual enterprise service desks will be set up to provide consulting services regarding policies and projects. The parties will leverage their complementary strengths to help Chinese mainland enterprises access overseas markets via Hong Kong, while facilitating Hong Kong companies’ entry into the Chinese mainland through Hainan.

The delegation also held talks with the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, exploring ways for British and American businesses to leverage Hainan’s value-added processing tariff exemptions and multifunctional free trade accounts to position themselves in regional supply chains and cross-border investment and financing. HSBC, De Beers, and other British firms are already active in Hainan, and the UK served as the Guest of Honor country at the 2025 China International Consumer Products Expo.

According to industry analysts, amid the shifting international trade landscape, Hainan is leveraging Hong Kong’s “super-connector” role to accelerate its integration with global capital and business networks, while simultaneously offering the Hong Kong business community a policy testing ground for entering the Chinese mainland market.

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Africa’s Grid Constraints Come into Focus as Regional Markets Push Toward Integration

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Africa

Regional power pools are advancing and renewable pipelines are growing, but the regulatory and financial architecture needed to connect them remains the continent’s most critical infrastructure gap – an issue central to the Power Africa Today conference at AEW 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 25, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa’s electricity demand is projected to nearly double to 2,291 TWh by 2050, requiring an estimated $30 billion in transmission and grid infrastructure investment to unlock and integrate new generation capacity. Yet across the continent, grid systems are struggling to keep pace with rapidly expanding supply pipelines and rising demand.

In Nigeria, repeated nationwide grid collapses as recently as February 2026 underscore the fragility of aging transmission infrastructure. In East Africa, tower failures along the 428 km Loiyangalani-Suswa line temporarily stranded output from Lake Turkana Wind Power – Africa’s largest wind installation. Meanwhile, demand growth pressures are accelerating across North Africa, where electricity consumption is expected to rise by around 50% by 2035, driven by urbanization, desalination projects, and climate-related temperature increases.

Despite these constraints, generation investment continues to accelerate across Africa, particularly in renewables, gas-to-power and hybrid systems. However, without equivalent investment in transmission and interconnection, much of this new capacity risks being underutilized or stranded. This growing imbalance between generation and grid capacity is driving a sharper focus on system-wide planning and regional market design – issues that will be central to the newly launched Power Africa Today conference at African Energy Week 2026. The platform will bring together policymakers, utilities, investors and developers to explore how regional interconnection, cross-border trading frameworks and financing structures can better align generation growth with grid expansion.

Power Markets Experiment with Reform

Alongside infrastructure challenges, Africa’s electricity sector is undergoing gradual – but uneven – market reform. Most countries still operate vertically integrated systems dominated by state utilities, but a growing number are introducing competitive frameworks to attract private capital and improve efficiency.

Zimbabwe opened its electricity market to full private participation across generation, transmission and distribution in 2025, targeting $9 billion in new investment. South Africa is advancing one of the continent’s most ambitious grid expansion programs, with plans for 14,500 km of new transmission lines and 133,000 MVA of transformer capacity by 2034, alongside mechanisms designed to crowd in private financing. Kenya, meanwhile, has introduced open access regulations enabling independent power producers to wheel electricity directly to multiple off-takers, reshaping how generation assets interface with the grid.

Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future

Regional Integration Remains Fragmented

Efforts to connect Africa’s fragmented power systems are progressing, though at different speeds across regions. In Southern Africa, the World Bank’s RETRADE SAPP program, approved in 2025, is deploying $12 million to strengthen renewable integration and transmission capacity across 12 member states. In East Africa, the Ethiopia–Kenya–Tanzania Electricity Highway is now in trial operations at up to 2,000 MW, marking a significant step toward a more interconnected regional grid.

West Africa is also moving toward deeper integration, with permanent synchronization of the West Africa Power Pool expected in 2026. Analysts, including the African Finance Corporation, argue that such synchronization is critical to unlocking large-scale hydropower potential and industrial demand across the region. Longer term, full synchronization between the Eastern and Southern African power pools – targeted for the end of 2026 – could create one of the world’s largest cross-border electricity trading corridors.

Building Bankable Financial Architectures

While interconnection is advancing, infrastructure alone is not enough to create investable electricity markets. Investors consistently cite the lack of standardized offtake structures, creditworthy counterparties, and cross-border payment guarantees as key barriers to scaling capital deployment.

New models are emerging to address these constraints. Africa GreenCo, operating across Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, is helping to aggregate independent power producers under a single creditworthy intermediary, standardizing power purchase agreements and reducing counterparty risk. At a broader level, AUDA-NEPAD estimates that Africa requires around $30 billion in additional investment to complete priority transmission corridors and establish three fully interconnected regional trading blocs by 2030.

“Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “The question at Africa Energy Week is not whether integration is possible – the evidence is already there. The question is which regulatory frameworks and financial structures will get projects to financial close, and which markets will be ready when capital is looking to move.”

The Power Africa Today conference will run alongside AEW 2026, taking place October 12–16 in Cape Town, and will focus on the regulatory, financial and infrastructural architecture needed to build interconnected electricity markets capable of attracting institutional capital and delivering reliable, cross-border power at scale.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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