City’s next billion-dollar start-up could emerge from electronics sector, says Arrow president
Experts see the Greater Bay Area initiative, which covers major electronics manufacturing hubs on the Chinese mainland, providing increased opportunities for Hong Kong start-ups to expand
Closer economic integration between Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province within the ambitious Greater Bay Area plan is expected to foster the development of Hong Kong’s next “unicorn” start-up in the electronics sector, according to experts.
“I’m very positive that this could happen very soon,” Simon Yu, the president of Arrow Electronics’ components business in the Asia-Pacific, told the South China Morning Post.
“Under that environment, we will see more start-ups connect the dots and become part of the world’s technology innovation value chain.”
Increased awareness about local hi-tech start-ups’ opportunity to join the ranks of companies worth more than US$1 billion follows recent news of Hong Kong logistics company GoGoVan accomplishing that feat.
Last month it agreed to merge with 58 Suyun, the freight business of mainland Chinese online classifieds giant 58 Home, to create the city’s first unicorn.
We will see more unicorns in Hong Kong. The GoGoVan deal shows there is incredible potential for start-ups arising out of the Greater Bay Area initiative
“We will see more unicorns in Hong Kong. The GoGoVan deal shows there is incredible potential for start-ups arising out of the Greater Bay Area initiative,” said Paul Haswell, a partner at international law firm Pinsent Masons. “Any opportunity to be in touch with investors on a wider scale is to be welcomed.”
