Silicon Valley to help boost Tung's vision
Hong Kong-SV.com, a Silicon Valley-based business association aimed at promoting high-technology development activities, will be launched officially on October 27.
Chairman and president Pauline Lo Alker said the new venture was consistent with Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's vision of transforming Hong Kong from a property-based economy to a technology-driven one.
'He knew that in order to promote innovation and technology, he needed to have collaborations between Hong Kong and Silicon Valley,' she said.
Ms Alker, on a visit sponsored by the SAR Government, said she came here to meet prominent figures in the information-technology industry and hear their views on the future of hi-tech.
She met Mr Tung in a private meeting on Tuesday.
She said she hoped Hong Kong-SV.com would promote awareness of business opportunities related to IT for the advancement of both communities.
'We also hope to facilitate networking and hi-tech business collaboration between the two,' she said.
About 10 companies in the United States, including Ms Alker's own Amplify.net, have agreed to sponsor the venture.
Ms Alker said she expected to secure at least 15 to 20 sponsors from Hong Kong, including China.com and Sino Land.
'It's important to show that there is strong support from Hong Kong,' she said.
According to Ms Alker, the SAR has a lot of advantages which will facilitate its development into a cybercity.
These include abundant capital, and also its strategic position as a window to the mainland, a potentially huge market.
Nonetheless, she said she was worried about the culture and mindset of the people.
'Hong Kong is very short-term oriented. People always look at short-term returns but the IT industry is not like that.
'Young people have to know that if they fail in these [IT] projects, they won't be penalised,' said Ms Alker.
She said she believed education would be the key to changing the short-term thinking.
Ms Alker left Hong Kong in 1960 to attend university in the United States. She is now president and chief executive of Amplify.net, a Silicon Valley company specialising in broadband access-enabling solutions.
