Hong Kong embraces data trading as economic engine, finance chief says Hong Kong is ramping up efforts to become an international data-trading hub by forging ties with mainland China and Southeast Asia, as cross-border data sharing is a new engine of an AI-driven economy that will benefit people and businesses, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po. “We are also committed to opening and sharing data that the private sector and academia can use,” Chan said on Tuesday at the inaugural International Data Industry Alliance (IDIA) Global Summit in Hong Kong. The government’s open data portal offers more than 5,600 data sets and recorded more than 60 billion downloads in 2024, he said. The value of data is “immense”, Chan said, adding that China’s digital economy delivered more than US$4.8 trillion in revenue last year. That value would only rise as artificial intelligence (AI) large language models – driven by high quality, accessible data – unlocked new industrial and commercial opportunities, he said. More than 100 representatives from Hong Kong’s data industry, technology enterprises, financial companies and the academic sector discussed cross-border data collaboration, security, compliance and scalable technology adoption at the summit. Government officials responsible for digital-economy initiatives in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Pakistan were also present at the event. The Commercial Data Interchange launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in 2022 had processed more than 20 million data exchanges as of April 2025, enabling faster credit assessments and making loans more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises, Chan said. Hong Kong “remains an open, diverse and international city with the free flow of goods, capital talent and crucial data” under the one country, two systems framework, serving “as a superconnector between China and the rest of the world”, he added. The Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone showcased secure cross-border sharing of research data and biological samples between Hong Kong and mainland China, with appropriate safeguards and user consent protocols in place, he said. Hong Kong’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises had helped attract more than 80 companies specialising in AI, biotechnology, fintech, new materials and new energy, Chan said. Meanwhile, InvestHK – the government’s investment attraction department – brought in about 120 innovation and technology companies last year, he said. “From healthcare and finance to climate science and education, data is revolutionising every sector,” said Allen Yeung, honorary chairman of IDIA. “But with this immense potential comes profound responsibility: to manage data ethically, to safeguard privacy and to ensure that data-driven innovation serves the public good.” Data is the core asset of digital development, yet its true value lies in secure and efficient global circulation and application, said Leo Chen, president of KN Group. IDIA announced the creation of its International Data Industry Research Centre in Hong Kong at the summit. Chan called the centre “another meaningful step towards advancing global data dialogue and cooperation”. The centre aims to be a platform for Hong Kong to work with economies around the world. It would help to “build cross-border data standards” and provide a “foundation for driving the mutual development of the global digital economy, through shared research, open dialogue and practical cooperation”, Yeung said. https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3311930/hong-kong-embraces-data-trading-economic-engine-finance-chief-says (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post