UAE-HK Smart City Delegation led by the Hong Kong Ambassadors Club brought 4 prominent Hong Kong companies to launch in UAE and signing more than 30 MOUs with Emirati Conglomerates and UAE Government

Curated by the Hong Kong Ambassadors Club (“HKAC”), the first BridgeME UAE-HK Smart City Business Delegation (“delegation”) visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) from 13 to 17 June 2023.

Led by Co-founders of the HKAC, The Hon Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, GBS, JP, Member of the Legislative Council and the Executive Council of the HKSAR Government, and Patrick Tsang, Chairman of Tsangs Group, the exclusive delegation visited and conducted business and investment meetings with senior government officials, local conglomerates, Emirati family offices, sovereign funds and the ruling families of the UAE. The top names included the Ministry of Economy of UAE, Emirates Transport, Emirates General Petroleum, and Mubadala Investment Company. The senior UAE government officials visited were H.E. Abdulla Al Saleh, Undersecretary for Foreign Trade and H.E. Abdulaziz Ibrahim Ali Al-Nuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Commercial Affairs Regulatory Sector of the Ministry of Economy of UAE; H.E. Helal S K. Al Marri, Director General of Department of Economy and Tourism of Dubai; H.E. Saeed Mohammed Ahmed Al Tayer, Managing Director & CEO of Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA); H.E. Dhaher bin Dhaher Al Mheiri, CEO of Abu Dhabi Global Market; H.E. Khalid Al Mansour, Managing Director of Emirates Transport; Amit Kaushal, Group CEO of Dubai Holding; and H.E. Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).

The delegation was hosted by His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence of UAE at his majlis. The delegation was endorsed through strategic partnership with H.E. Ali Alnuaimi, Board Member of UAE Space Agency and Managing Director of Shafra Advisors, who is also the Strategic Advisor at the global family office in Hong Kong, Tsangs Group, Ibrahim Almalki, Managing Partner of TealBond Capital Holdings Ltd and Mr Tom Hudson, Managing Director of Kestrel Global Ltd.

During the 5-day business visit, 15 key representatives from the Legislative Council, Executive Council, smart city technology companies, listed companies, and family offices of Hong Kong were brought together. Notable delegates included Steven Lam, Co-Founder and CEO of GoGoX, Victor Lee, Founder and CEO of Rice Robotics, Jonathan Lamport, CEO of A-Grade Energy, and Raymond Chan, Executive Director and CEO of ATAL Engineering Group. The delegation aimed to bridge the gap between the best smart city technology businesses in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area of Mainland China to the Middle East via the UAE.

The UAE has emerged as Hong Kong’s premier trading ally in the Middle East, commanding a robust 69.8% share of Hong Kong’s total commerce within the region. The UAE’s influence is particularly noteworthy in terms of the Belt and Road Initiative, where it serves as a significant strategic hub for Hong Kong’s regional engagements.

In the wake of the high-level delegation, over 30 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were meticulously drafted and successfully ratified. These collaborations span a variety of initiatives, including groundbreaking proof-of-concept trials for cutting-edge smart logistics technologies and service robotics, commitments to renewable energy projects, and dynamic acceleration programmes designed to propel the development and adoption of next-generation technologies.

Riding on the last Middle East delegation led by our Chief Executive John Lee, the BridgeME UAE-Hong Kong Business Delegation has been a successful curation of top-notch smart city delegation from Hong Kong to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The establishment of the business softlanding and technology partnership with the large sovereign funds in the UAE once again marked the impressive progress of Hong Kong to serve as Asia’s Technology Innovation Hub. It also boosted the strategic role of Hong Kong being the Financial Hub for Mainland China’s Belt and Road Initiative,” commented The Hon Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, GBS, JP.

The delegation marked an essential milestone of the Hong Kong Ambassadors Club, where the leading tech entrepreneurs and business leaders from Hong Kong successfully established business partnerships with local conglomerates and government agencies. Pilot projects for proof-of-concept will soon be starting. Our next ambition to bring Hong Kong to another level of the spotlight would be the upcoming COP28 UAE towards the end of the year. We welcome advanced technologies from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area of Mainland China that address the Net-Zero Goal of the UAE and the region,” commented Patrick Tsang.