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HKSTP Companies Exhibit the Latest AI Technology Solutions at InnoEX 2024 and the Hong Kong Spring Electronics Fair (Spring Edition)

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HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 April 2024 – The Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), alongside 25 partner companies, has taken part in Asia’s leading annual innovation and technology (I&T) event, InnoEX 2024, and the world-class electronics industry event, the Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition). Under the theme: From Smart Vision to Intelligent Future, HKSTP presents cutting-edge R&D achievements from 16 partner companies in fields such as Smart City, AI and Robotics, Digital Business, and Marketing Tech, further showcasing the region’s research strengths.

Paul Chan, the Financial Secretary of HKSAR, Lillian Cheong, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of HKSAR, accompanied by Ir Dr HL Yiu, Chief Corporate Development Officer of HKSTP, visited HKSTP’s booth at InnoEX to experience the latest local R&D achievements.

HKSTP has been steadfast in its commitment to nurturing innovative enterprises that advance the development of Hong Kong as a smart city. On the exhibition’s opening day, HKSTP arranged two start-up showcase sessions, which provided opportunities for business matching and investment opportunities. The sessions were conducted in a competitive format, with the winning start-up scheduled to participate in the Techsauce Global Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, in August, with HKSTP to achieve potential business expansion in Asia.

Ir Dr HL Yiu, Chief Corporate Development Officer of HKSTP, said: “China is focusing on the development of ‘new quality productive forces’, with I&T serving as the core driving force. Our participation in InnoEX presenting market-ready solutions to both local and overseas buyers is expected to capture their attention and garner brand exposure. HKSTP will continue to refine its support for nurturing startups, accelerating the process from R&D to commercialisation, thus fostering the development of intelligent living.”

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s Global Frontier Technology Readiness Index in 2023, Hong Kong has ascended from 13th to 9th globally in the capability to utilise cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT. This significant leap underscores a marked enhancement in Hong Kong’s application of innovative technologies. As technological products are now closely intertwined with AI, several partner companies have integrated AI into their offerings for greater intelligence, customisation, and optimisation of efficiency, which in turn significantly enhances the user experience. For example, smart building solutions employ sensors to gather environmental data for subsequent analysis. The integration of AI improves the volume, speed, and precision of data processing. Additionally, some startups have incorporated AI into digital marketing tools, refining the advertisement production workflow, enabling the creation of more targeted and cost-efficient advertising strategies.

In collaboration with global universities, the 14 research AI and robotics laboratories under InnoHK’s “AIR@InnoHK” will show case some of the most advanced solutions at InnoEX.

This year’s InnoEX gathers world-class innovative solutions, featuring science and technology enterprises from over 13 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Mainland China, Canada, France, India, Poland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and more.

HKSTP’s flagship start-up pitching competition, EPiC, will also culminate with its Grand Finale on the 26th of April at the top of Hong Kong’s iconic International Commerce Centre. The top 74 global start-ups reaching the final round will compete for potential investments totalling USD 45 million. This includes venture capital investment of up to USD 5 million, cash prizes totalling USD 240,000, and opportunities for commercial collaborations. Participating start-ups can benefit from HKSTP’s unrivalled ecosystem as a springboard to tap into the vast opportunities in Mainland China, Asia, and other overseas markets.

Some of the latest products and solutions exhibited by HKSTP partner companies at InnoEX include:

Smart City Solutions

Intelligent Transformation for Old and New Buildings: Comprehensive realization of smart buildings – Neuron Digital’s smart building solutions are tailored for a variety of applications, featuring specialised modules that can interface with 5G or IoT. These systems collect data on temperature, humidity, air quality, space occupancy, etc. By integrating AI with digital twins, Neuron Digital offers a detailed 3D virtual model of a building’s internal and external environments. This enables developers, building operators, and facilities management teams to easily monitor and optimise facility operations, leading to significant energy savings, enhanced building management efficiency, sustainability, and thus contributing to a better living environment.

Digitalised Transport Solutions for Smart Cities – Smart transportation is a pivotal component of smart cities, and Neuvix is at the vanguard with solutions that leverage edge computing, computer vision, AI, and digital twin. These solutions support the intelligent upgrading of transport infrastructure, analysing driving behaviour on roads, traffic flow, and vehicular data at stations to realise intelligent transportation systems and smart stations.

Digital Business

Creating Sterile Environments with 20kV – Apicem Technology Services Company Limited (ATS) has developed a patented Baal Decontamination system that utilises a 20kV high-voltage electric field to eliminate bacteria and viruses, thereby purifying the air. It represents a new green technology capable of one-off filtration of carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and the removal of dioxins, hydrogen sulphide, formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, and odours. Its cloud-based Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) monitoring system can track improvements down to PM1.0 particulates and can be integrated with existing property management systems to achieve digitalised management and sustainable development.

Asia’s First “On-premise” AI Bot Development Platform – GPTBots.ai – empowers business enterprises to effortlessly custom-build and train their own exclusive AI bots within their networks. It is the first platform in Asia that enterprises can mitigate the risk of data breaches without using third-party AI platforms. By simply uploading their proprietary data to the internal knowledge base and connecting to large language models (LLM) of their choice, enterprises can seamlessly train the bots through interactive chatting. The versatility of these AI bots spans across a broad spectrum of applications, encompassing translation services, customer engagement, personal assistance, and knowledge retrieval, among others.

AI and Robotics

Hong Kong-developed robots target ESG implementation challenges – In a bid to address challenges such as staffing difficulties in property management and healthcare services, Novelte has launched a series of robots designed to tackle issues related to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). These robots are particularly focused on enhancing daily operations in property management and facilitating hospital deliveries. Established in 2019, the company specialises in the R&D of robotics and has since introduced a diverse range of robots tailored for various applications, including meal delivery, intelligent assistance, and security.

Marketing Tech

Asia’s Leading AI Advertising Platform Elevates Efficiency – GoGoChart has unveiled AppAura, a state-of-the-art digital marketing and ad management platform that utilises AI to optimise the ad management process and boost advertising effectiveness. Users can with ease create engaging advertising campaigns and content, enjoy the advantages of cross-platform integration and streamlined ad management across major online media platforms. This enhances work efficiency and cuts costs for users, granting clients a significant advantage in the highly competitive digital market.

AI SEO Tools Help Businesses Succeed in the Global Market – Capturing the attention of the target audience amidst the overwhelming information of the digital age, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial. The Hong Kong startup Aloha has unveiled its self-developed SEO tool, RankBot, which incorporates AI and real-time global search engine data, offering support for over 90 regions and 45 languages. RankBot’s cutting-edge technology empowers users to make precise, data-driven decisions, drastically cutting down the time needed to execute and manage SEO and improving their products’ global search engine rankings, thus aiding businesses in expanding their international presence.

InnoEX 2024
Date: 13-16 April, 2024
Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai
HKSTP Pavilion Booth No: 3C-B01

Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition)
Date: 13-16 April, 2024
Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai

Elevator Pitch Competition (EPiC 2024) Grand Finale
Date: 26 April, 2024
Venue: Sky100 Observation Deck, International Commerce Centre

About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) was established in 2001 to create a thriving I&T ecosystem grooming 12 unicorns, more than 14,000 research professionals and over 1,700 technology companies from 26 countries and regions focused on developing healthtech, AI and robotics, fintech and smart city technologies, etc.

Our growing innovation ecosystem offers comprehensive support to attract and nurture talent, accelerate and commercialise innovation for technology ventures, with the I&T journey built around our key locations of Hong Kong Science Park in Shatin, InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong and three modern InnoParks in Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long realising a vision of new industrialisation for Hong Kong, where sectors including advanced manufacturing, micro-electronics and biotechnology are being reimagined.

Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch in Futian, Shenzhen plays positive roles in connecting the world and the mainland with our proximity, strengthening cross-border exchange to bring advantages in attracting global talent and allowing possibilities for the development of technology companies in seven key areas: Medtech, big data and AI, robotics, new materials, microelectronics, fintech and sustainability, with both dry and wet laboratories, co-working space, conference and exhibition facilities, and more.

Through our R&D infrastructure, startup support and enterprise services, commercialisation and investment expertise, partnership networks and talent traction, HKSTP continues contribute in establishing I&T as a pillar of growth for Hong Kong.

More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.

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Ministers among hundreds of energy-sector leaders to attend AOW event

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The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

AOW: Investing in African Energy (https://AOWEnergy.com) – Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy event – has confirmed attendance for more than 80 ministers and senior officials, representing African governments, energy departments and regulators at next month’s event.

These influential stakeholders will be among the more than 1 600 senior delegates and industry leaders who will be attending the event to develop policy, share discoveries, secure investment, and shape Africa’s energy future.

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors.”

Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention

Among the officials and government ministers attending will be energy leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Eswatini, Uganda, CAR, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Zanzibar, Liberia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone.

In addition, the event will feature high-level delegations from numerous national oil companies, as well as multilateral bodies including the African Union, (AU), African Energy Commission (AFREC), African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

AOW will see these energy leaders networking with C-suite executives and decision-makers from more than 760 top energy companies at daily networking events, to discuss insights, forge new relationships, and negotiate major energy deals.

“We are so excited to see the calibre of delegates at this year’s AOW event,” says Chief Executive Officer of Sankofa Events, Paul Sinclair. “Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention. The high-powered attendance proves AOW is a key platform to enable this intervention.”

Key themes to be discussed at this year’s AOW will be sustainable upstream development; expanding gas value chains; renewables and new energies; adoption of best-in-class technologies; and access to finance.

AOW: Investing in African Energy will culminate in a special anniversary party at Groot Constantia Vineyard to celebrate 30 years of the AOW event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AOW: Investing in African Energy.

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Afreximbank approves US$20.8 million for Starlink Global’s cashew factory project in Lagos

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The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs

CAIRO, Egypt, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has approved a US$20.8 million financing facility for Nigeria-based Starlink Global & Ideal Limited to enable the company construct and operate a 30,000-metric tonne per annum cashew processing factory in Lagos.

We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria

According to the facility agreement signed in on July 22, 2024, Afreximbank will provide the funds in two tranches with the first tranche of US$7.48M going toward capital expenditure for the construction of the factory and the second, totalling US$13.25M to be deployed as working capital for the operations of the factory.

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs once the factory becomes operational. It is also expected to support about 40 small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commenting on the transaction, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra Africa Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said that by supporting Starlink Global to establish a modern processing facility, Afreximbank is making it possible for Africa to add value to its agro-commodities, thereby facilitating exports and subsequent inflow of much-needed foreign exchange into the continent.

“We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria. It will contribute to value creation and to the development of the local community while also improving the lots of smallholder farmers and small business suppliers that will work with Starlink across the value chain,” Mrs. Awani added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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Sonangol to Lead Decarbonized Oil & Gas (O&G) Development, Says Angolan National Oil Company (NOC) Head

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Participating in an on-stage interview at Angola Oil & Gas 2024, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins emphasized that oil and gas remains a core focus for the national oil company

LUANDA, Angola, October 3, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol reiterated its commitment to driving sustainable hydrocarbon development during the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this week. Speaking during an “In-Conversation with” session, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins stated that the company will not abandon oil and gas, but rather advance decarbonized oil and gas development.

We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas

By investing in upstream oil and gas production while prioritizing low-carbon projects, Sonangol aims to boost national crude output, while diversifying and decarbonizing the industry. The NOC is focusing efforts on non-associated gas development, as well as alternative energy sources such as solar.

“We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas. Gas produced from Angola LNG will be used for the production of fertilizer and we are evaluating the utilization of gas in the south of the country, linking gas with steel industries. We also have a blue carbon project, linked to the reduction of carbon through the plantation of mangroves. We have one area in Luanda and have identified four additional areas for this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Sonangol has undergone transformation in recent years: following the creation of the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) in 2019, Sonangol transferred its role as national concessionaire and regulator. This transformation has aimed to make Sonangol more competitive and strengthen its capacity as an upstream operator. Concurrently, the government is partially privatizing the NOC, with privatization set to be complete in 2026. This process will enhance financial capacity, allowing Sonangol to drive new upstream projects forward.

“The transformation of Sonangol started several years ago, when we passed the regulatory, concessionaire role to the ANPG. At the time, we transferred almost 600 employees to the ANPG. After that, Sonangol underwent a restructuring program where we created five core business units from 36 different entities – starting with exploration and production. We want to go public, but we want to do it properly. So, we are currently going through all the processes to do this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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