The Hong Kong government’s policy to develop the Web3 industry helped attract more than 150 blockchain companies to the Cyberport business park alone over the course of 2022.
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po reported on the successes achieved by the Special Administrative Region government in the process of developing the local Web3 industry. The official said in particular that in 2022, the Cyberport business park, which is located in the Southern District of Hong Kong, attracted over 150 new blockchain companies.
The report noted that the Cyberport business park received 50 million yuan for the development of the Web3 industry in 2022, and another 500 million yuan will be allocated this year as part of the “Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme” funding. These funds will be used to help small and medium-sized Web3 companies, as well as to introduce blockchain into the business processes of large enterprises.
In total, Cyberport has about 1,900 innovative IT companies, including six unicorn companies, among them ZA Bank, which is separately developing a Web3 direction and has already announced plans to provide digital asset trading services for retail investors. Among other things, Cyberport already had about 400 FinTech companies as of 2021.
At the end of February 2023, it was reported that the authorities of Mainland China tacitly supported the initiative to turn Hong Kong into a crypto hub in Asia. Following this, China’s largest banks began to offer their services to crypto businesses in Hong Kong. Moreover, local authorities started to put pressure on those banks that didn’t start serving crypto companies.
