Hong Kong should look beyond online entertainment and embrace Web3 as part of efforts to spur economy: finance chief Paul Chan
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan says next generation of the internet, known as Web3, is not just for fun and games but also improving business operations, daily life and more
- Chan allocated HK$50 million in the 2023-24 budget to develop the Web 3 ecosystem and has set up a dedicated task force
Hong Kong’s finance chief has said the city should look beyond online entertainment as it embraced the next generation of the internet, known as Web3, as part of efforts to spur growth in the economy.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday appealed to the city not to waste any time and seize the opportunities offered by cutting-edge technology.
“The next wave of breakthroughs is very likely to be driven by Web3 and blockchain technology,” he wrote in his weekly blog post.
Chan said the application and evolution of Web3 had helped accelerate the development of the online entertainment industry in recent years by offering high-quality and immersive experiences to users.
He highlighted an overseas study that predicted the global online entertainment market could grow to about US$653 billion in 2027, up from about US$184 billion in 2021.
“The likes of NFTs, GameFi, Play to Earn and immersive entertainment are directions many global entertainment enterprises are putting in resources to explore,” he wrote, citing the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum held at Cyberport over the weekend.
The first generation of the internet emerged in the 1990s, referred to as Web1. It was mainly made up of static web pages with content used to display information.
