The immense potential
for technology investment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, as
well as the significance of tech collaboration between Europe and China, were
highlighted on the first day of the conference programme at BEYOND Expo 2024 in
Macau.
Speaking at a panel
session at BEYOND Expo, an emerging technology and innovation trade show in
Asia, on Thursday, Thomas Tsao, co-founder of Gobi Partners, highlighted the
opportunities for investment amidst lingering uncertainties such as an economic
downturn.
“When everybody is negative, when everybody says the sky is falling, it’s the best time to deploy, and we have found this to be the case in China,” Tsao remarked. “The valuation for Chinese start-ups is now a little bit more reasonable than it was a couple of years ago.”
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Thomas Tsao, co-founder of Gobi Partners
Gobi Partners, an
Asia-focused venture capital firm affiliated with Chinese conglomerate Alibaba
Group, currently manages approximately US$1.6 billion (MOP12.88 billion) in
assets and has invested in more than 380 start-ups.
According to the
co-founder of Gobi Partners, the investment landscape for technology and
start-ups in China has shifted from Beijing and Shanghai to the Greater Bay
Area, largely due to support from the Chinese central government.
“The Greater Bay Area
is China’s attempt to create the world’s first megalopolis,” he explained “It’s
as if they’re trying to take the financial hub of New York and combine it with
the venture capital ecosystem of San Francisco, the universities in Boston, the
entertainment hub of [Las] Vegas, and the manufacturing power of Detroit. All
of these elements are put together into one super city.”
Tsao and other
panelists, including Roderick Purwana, managing partner of East Venture, which
focuses on tech investments in Southeast Asia, also discussed the potential
impact of changes in the political climate on the tech ecosystem and investment
decisions.
“There are certain
people who may be affected by short-term headlines, but we are primarily
focused on powerful, long-term trends that, in most cases, are irreversible,”
highlighted Tsao. “The political situation may change, but when you look
broadly at what’s happening in Asia, [you can see that] Asia is making
improvements.”
Europe and Japan
BEYOND Expo 2024,
organised by the Macau Technology General Association and supported by various
entities, is being held at The Venetian Macao from Wednesday to Saturday (22-25
May). This year, the four-day event celebrates its fourth edition with the
theme “Embracing the Uncertainties.”
Discussing the business environment for tech start-ups on one of the panels on Thursday, Steven Drost, CSO of CodeBase, the largest technology incubator in the United Kingdom, emphasised the importance of collaboration with China, particularly because of its manufacturing capacity.
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Steven Drost, CSO of CodeBase
“It’s really important
for European start-ups to reach out to the Chinese ecosystem to stay relevant
and have places to dock and build their projects,” he said. “It’s one of the
areas where everyone can agree and work together for a win-win situation.”
In addition to the
summits focusing on healthcare tech, consumer tech, and climate tech, BEYOND
Expo 2024 introduced the SheTech Summit, which addresses gender inequality and
highlights the achievements of female leaders in the tech industry, as well as
the Japan Tech Forum.
During the Japan Tech
Forum on Wednesday, Akio Tanaka, a partner at Headline, a venture capital firm
with investments across various regions including Japan, discussed the evolving
tech ecosystem in the country. “I think people used to visit Japan for food and
real estate, but now we see individuals with tech and venture capital
backgrounds coming to Japan,” he indicated.
“Japanese technology companies have been around for a long time, but I believe that in the last 20 or 15 years, we have been eclipsed by China, India, and other Southeast Asian markets,” Tanaka said. “Now, there is enough momentum from the private and public sectors to boost Japan’s tech ecosystem.”
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Akio Tanaka, partner at Headline
Lawrence Ho’s Black Spade
The conference of
BEYOND Expo on Thursday also provided insights into the investment empire of
Macau gaming tycoon Lawrence Ho Yau Lung. Speaking at one of the panels, Dennis
Tam, CEO of Black Spade Capital, which is Ho’s private investment arm,
discussed the firm’s investment strategies.
Tam illustrated that
Black Spade examines four major aspects before making final investment
decisions, including the management personnel of the target company, its
shareholding structure, the level of control Black Spade can exert, and the
exit strategy.
Last year, for example, a subsidiary of Black Spade Capital merged with Vinfast, a car manufacturer owned by Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong, in a US$23 billion deal.
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Dennis Tam, CEO of Black Spade Capital
Tam also revealed that
Black Spade Capital recently completed a deal in Dubai involving a
decentralised media platform, but he declined to give specific details of the
deal. Decentralised media platforms use blockchain technology to distribute
data across multiple nodes, ensuring greater privacy, rather than relying on
centralised servers.
“There are a lot
of good companies now, and we’re still looking into different sectors to invest
in,” Tam added.
The Thursday session of
BEYOND Expo also featured a fireside chat between Grant Chum, CEO and President
of Macau gaming operator Sands China, and UK football legend David Beckham, who
serves as the Sands Resorts Macao global ambassador.
The conversation primarily focused on Beckham’s transition from being a professional football player to becoming an entrepreneur. Beckham emphasised that his business success thus far had been driven by partnerships with “great brands that also want longevity,” such as Sands.
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Grant Chum, CEO and President of Sands China (left); British football legend David Beckham (right)
Showcasing Innovations
In addition to a packed
agenda of summits and forums, BEYOND Expo 2024 will provide a platform for over
1,000 exhibitors, including Fortune 500 companies from Asia, multinationals, unicorns
and start-ups. The exhibition space covers more than 100,000 square metres.
Renowned electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla unveiled its latest car model, the Cybertruck, at the event, while XPENG AEROHT, Asia’s largest flying car company, showcased its cutting-edge innovations.
Meanwhile, the
authorities of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin
mobilised the participation of more than 120 mainland Chinese exhibitors
specialising in microchips, biochemicals, and traditional Chinese medicine at
BEYOND Expo 2024.
António Lei Chi Wai,
the director of the Economic Development Bureau in the cooperation zone,
expressed, “[Through BEYOND Expo], we aim to showcase to the international
community the tremendous opportunities presented by the joint development of
Macau and Hengqin.”
