Hong Kong's BIP Asia Forum and Entrepreneur Day Launch with Focus on IP Financing and Global Expansion

The 15th Business of IP Asia Forum (BIP Asia Forum) and 17th Entrepreneur Day (E-Day) opened at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, jointly organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. These flagship events gather more than 180 speakers and over 420 start-ups, innovative projects, and support organizations to advance innovation and technology (I&T) and intellectual property (IP) exchange, reinforcing Hong Kong's position as a super-connector for regional and global collaboration. HKTDC Executive Director Sophia Chong emphasized that robust IP protection encourages investment in research and development and commercialization of new ideas, while multi-stakeholder collaboration helps translate IP into measurable economic impact.

This year's Forum, themed "Leverage IP to Finance Business Growth," examines IP's role as a core driver of sustainable expansion. The keynote session on "IP Valuation and Financing" featured insights from industry leaders on how enterprises can leverage IP assets as a source of capital. The plenary session "Propelling Sustainability with IP" explored how companies can strategically deploy intellectual property to achieve sustainability goals and accelerate industrial standardization. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau outlined HKSAR's efforts to strengthen Hong Kong's role as a regional IP trading centre, including expanding the patent examiner team, modernizing the Copyright Ordinance and registered designs regime, and creating business-matching programs connecting Mainland enterprises with Hong Kong's IP service providers.

A significant focus of the Forum is strengthening go-global strategies for Mainland enterprises. The session "Cross-Border Empowerment: Forging a New IP-Driven Investment Ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area," co-organized with the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation, focuses on regional collaboration, cross-border IP protection, and financing strategies to help enterprises scale from the GBA to global markets. For the first time, the Forum introduces an "IP Go-Global Business Matching Session" allowing local professional service providers and IP lawyers to offer one-on-one consultations to Mainland enterprises covering trademark and patent registration, enforcement, litigation, international licensing, and dispute resolution. The onsite showcase area of Asia IP Exchange (AsiaIPEX) Creative Hub displays local creative IP, while the Innovation & IP Market features over 25 I&T projects under the theme "Smart Living."

E-Day continues with the theme "Where Start-up Dreams Take Flight," bringing together over 360 start-ups, inventor projects, and support organizations from 11 countries and regions. Exhibits span six major tech categories: AI, healthtech, cybersecurity, construction & logistics, spatial computing, and sustainability. The event features three key exhibition zones: the "Start-up and Innovation Zone," "University Spin-off," and "The Boosters." The "GBA Tripartite Roundtable: Empowering GBA Startups to Expand into ASEAN with Hong Kong as a Super-connector and Super Value-adder" explores opportunities for Greater Bay Area start-ups to tap into ASEAN and global markets, with speakers discussing how Hong Kong can accelerate cross-border innovation collaboration and market expansion.

This year's "Start-up Express International" brings together ten quality start-ups from across the globe covering green tech, healthtech, AI, edtech and more, demonstrating Hong Kong's attractiveness as an international launchpad. The international start-ups will share their entrepreneurial journeys and exchange insights with panel speakers exploring opportunities in Hong Kong and the GBA. Running concurrently from 3 to 6 December, DesignInspire presents works from leading local and international designers. Together, these three events create strong synergy and reinforce Hong Kong's positioning as Asia's hub for innovation and IP. More information about Entrepreneur Day can be found at https://portal.hktdc.com/eday/en, while details about Start-up Express International are available at https://portal.hktdc.com/startupexpress/en/s/start-up-express-international.