Cyberport: Hong Kong-style internet entrepreneurship dream

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The Hong Kong Cyberport is like an illegitimate child and is untimely. Before the dotcom bubble of 2000, it was carrying Hong Kong's internet dream and trying to replicate a Silicon Valley. When a bubble is born, and then the economy is depressed, no one wants to mention the Internet. The Cyberport now wants to play the role of fostering Internet entrepreneurship.　　From the big Internet dream of a city to helping entrepreneurs realize their little internet dream, the Cyberport is trying to rebuild the community's confidence in the Internet through this transformation. Huangho (Mobilezine Asia industry Analyst)

The impression on the Hong Kong people of this "Cyberport", which was set up in early 21st century, is mostly a sign of collusion between the HKSAR Government and property hegemony and the indiscriminate use of public resources.

In 2000, Mr Tung Chee-hwa, then chief executive of Hong Kong, made a great effort to promote the information technology industry, and the government, without public tender, put the premium land on the waterfront of the Steel Line Bay and Richard Li's surplus to expand to develop into a hi-tech centre similar to that of Silicon Valley. As a result, a "Cyberport" was set up to attract large enterprises from the international IT sector to set up a science and technology park in Hong Kong, but the government's wishful thinking was broken after the 2001 Internet explosion which spoiled the whole scheme.

The internet dream of the Cyberport

The 97 reunification soon ushered in the Asian financial turmoil, Hong Kong's property prices plunged, many Hong Kong people into negative equity, consumer desire depressed, Hong Kong and began to enter a long-term deflationary period. In the 2000, the Hong Kong economy suddenly seemed to be "picking up" as the internet boom.

1999-2000 Hong Kong did appear a large number of Internet-related enterprises, some more successful listing. The development of the Cyberport is a beautiful picture. However, as some of the successful Internet companies were only concept stocks, the price-earnings ratio was fired too high, but the profitability was not up to expectations, the end of the dotcom bubble in the early 2000, the Internet shares plunged. Many internet companies have started to lay off staff and pay cuts, partly forced to graduate or be acquired.

After a long period of time, in addition to sporadic information on the completion of supporting real estate projects, the "Cyberport", which carries the dream of Hong Kong's internet, seems to be slowly forgotten.

The Internet dream of entrepreneurs

After the dotcom bubble burst, big consortia were no longer confident about the Internet, whether it was privatization or technological transformation, and capital was no longer revolving around internet entrepreneurs. For more than more than 10 years, entrepreneurs have been unable to find capital development, but also become a knot in the development of Internet products in Hong Kong.

In 2010, Chow, the new Cyberport chief executive, hoped that the development of the Cyberport would help businesses, provide support and open up business opportunities through various schemes. "I am not pursuing the achievement of the Cyberport itself, but it is the development of the industry and the community that will benefit the economy of Hong Kong," he said. Of course, the ultimate success of the companies we nurture will depend on their own good fortune, just as universities provide education and do not guarantee graduates a successful career, but we continue to optimize our equipment to provide better support. ”

Now, if you are over 18 years old, have a Hong Kong identity card, a creative idea about the Internet, or if you intend to set up an Internet company, you will have the opportunity to be subsidized or nurtured by the Cyberport. In fact, since 05, the Cyberport has fostered a total of 189 companies with a total subsidy of up to $81.37 million. At present, 66 companies are being nurtured, and 70% of the enterprises which have completed their cultivation in the past 122 years are still operating.

For the Hong Kong Cyberport, the impression left to Hong Kong people is mostly the collusion between the SAR government and property hegemony and the indiscriminate use of public resources.　　From the disillusionment of a city's internet dream to helping entrepreneurs realize their dream of the Internet, the Cyberport, which has been hastily planned as "Hong Kong's Silicon Valley", has witnessed the rise and fall of the internet industry in Hong Kong for more than more than 10 years. Internet dream geometry?

The dotcom bubble 10 years ago has left Hong Kong's society with no illusions about the Internet's economic drive. The outbreak of "SARS", which was followed by unprecedented outbreaks, was a serious blow to the public's desire to consume, and the property and tourism industries were hit hard. It was only after the introduction of the free line that it brought about a strong growth impetus for Hong Kong's economy, but it also brought endless controversy to society.

Hong Kong is no longer a city that belongs to the Internet dream. But the spirit of Internet entrepreneurship has been preserved. Internet entrepreneurs, under pressure from the community, put even public housing, college classrooms as their starting point, trying to break out of the new internet boom in the world.

We are seeing a growing number of Hong Kong internet start-ups starting to emerge, with more and more entrepreneurial communities, and Angel Capital starting to pay attention to this group of entrepreneurs with Internet dreams. At the same time, a Cyberport-funded internet company has been widely shared as a "success story" and has inspired more young people in Hong Kong who also have Internet dreams.

The Internet mission of the Cyberport

We should not give too much prejudice to the Cyberport, even though its establishment may have been a decision of the Hong Kong government without careful planning. But, when we still have a dream, who is not crazy? What's really scary is that the city lost its dream one day and stopped innovating.

Now that the cyberport has fallen through the dotcom bubble, the entire city's internet dream is no longer. Now, the Cyberport should also play a role in supporting Internet entrepreneurship, bringing back the Internet entrepreneurial environment and the internet dream of entrepreneurs. We do not expect to be able to rebuild Hong Kong city's confidence in the Internet only through the Cyberport subsidy scheme. But that would be an important step.

From the disillusionment of a city's great internet dream to helping entrepreneurs realize their own Internet dream, the Cyberport has witnessed the rise and fall of the internet industry in Hong Kong for more than more than 10 years and continues to compose this unique Hong Kong-style internet dream. We will wait and see how far the road to the dream can go.