US$10 Billion in Venture Capital Convenes to Meet Hong Kong Start-ups; Government, Business and Young Professionals Explore Opportunities in the New Economy

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 7 October 2026 - The Global Youth Powerhouse Summit 2026, organised by Hong Kong Youth Professional Global Advocacy, was held on 5 October at the Conrad Hong Kong. Now in its third edition, the Summit coincides with the release of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2026-2030) and the latest Policy Address, which together set a clear blueprint for the city's future. Anchored on these core themes and conducted entirely in English, the full-day programme focused on artificial intelligence, geopolitics, Hong Kong as an education hub, capital markets, life and health technology, and start-up financing. Government and business leaders, corporate representatives and young professionals were invited to examine Hong Kong's strategic opportunities in the new economic landscape. 

The Summit aims to connect young professionals with international resources, enabling participants to engage directly with industry leaders, grasp developments at the frontier of industry, and look ahead to the opportunities and challenges arising from artificial intelligence and Greater Bay Area integration. Previous editions have drawn a strong response. Across three editions, the Summit has attracted more than thousands of in-person participants and about 17,000 online participants from over 30 countries and regions, with social media reach exceeding 50 million.

This year's Summit was the largest yet, bringing together more than 600 young professionals, government and business leaders and corporate representatives. Participants from over 60 countries and regions joined online. More than 30 distinguished speakers and moderators were invited, including officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and representatives of leading local and international organisations such as Huawei, the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Bullish and Endowus. In addition, consular representatives from up to 20 countries attended the Summit.

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr John Lee, GBM, SBS, PDSM, PMSM, delivered a pre-recorded video speech, encouraging young professionals to seize the opportunities of the times and inject fresh momentum into Hong Kong's high-quality development. He said: "For our young people, I firmly believe that your opportunities ahead outweigh the difficulties. The HKSAR Government will join hands with all sectors to build platforms for you to thrive in Hong Kong, in our country, and in the global arena."

The Deputy Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, SBS, JP, delivered an opening keynote entitled "Opportunities for the Professional Development of Young People", and stressed: "As the saying goes, 'Change is the only constant'-or as our Cantopop classic famously put it, '變幻原是永恆'. Today, we no longer measure change in years or decades, but in months and days. For our young professionals, this fast-paced era unlocks unprecedented career horizons. By accelerating Greater Bay Area integration through our new GBA Task Force and empowering you to act as the ultimate 'super-connectors' and 'super value-adders' helping Mainland enterprises go global, we are turning rapid change into your greatest professional advantage."

Dr Kevin Lau, MH, Founding Convenor of Hong Kong Youth Professional Global Advocacy, said: "This is more than a high-level forum. It marks a milestone in the maturing of our network of young professionals. This afternoon, venture funds managing an estimated US$10 billion in assets gathered in the room - and what they are looking at is Hong Kong's next generation. In life and health technology, our core belief is clear: artificial intelligence can assist imaging and diagnosis, but a physician's care, and the warmth of a human hand, can never be replaced by technology."

Other distinguished guests included Mr Kevin Choi, JP, Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry; Professor Frederick Ma, GBS, JP, Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council; Ms Bonnie Y Chan, JP, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited; and Mr James Chau, President of the China-United States Exchange Foundation and World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainable Development Goals. Mr Bryan Che, Chief Strategy Officer of Huawei, and Ms Cindy Chow, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, also attended in person to exchange views with young professionals.

Artificial intelligence: from first-time users to advanced users
The opening session began with remarks by Mr Kevin Choi, JP, Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, and was moderated by Ms Stephaine Chan, Director of the Office of the Vice Chairman of Esquel Group. Panellists included Ms Ilaria Chan, Chair of the Tech For Good Institute; Mr Bryan Che, Chief Strategy Officer of Huawei; and Ms Cindy Chow, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund. The discussion focused on whether small and medium-sized enterprises, non-governmental organisations and schools can genuinely put artificial intelligence to use, and on the talent, trust and practical-application issues Hong Kong faces in driving "AI for all".

Mr Kevin Choi, JP mentioned: "Every major technology shift brings uncertainty. Our theme today from entry-level shock to AI-powered users building the next talent leader."

Ms Stephaine Chan said: "Every AI conversation ends in the same place, right? More investment, better people, better models and stronger policy."

Ms Ilaria Chan said: "These days, Al is so powerful that they can scan the Internet and social media and find vulnerable young people or old people. They can find it instantly and have a very sophisticated way to trick them and fraud them from scamming."

Mr Bryan Che: "One of the opportunities of Al is because the interface is much more natural for most people to interact with. On one sense, it's a lot easier for everyone to get started."

Ms Cindy Chow said: "So I guess some of the most damaging thing is not allowing people to use or not, you know, really have the attitude to embrace all this new technology, what this new technology has to bring to you."

Geopolitics: the super-connector
This session was moderated by Mr James Chau, President of the China-United States Exchange Foundation and World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainable Development Goals. Speakers included Ms Ilaria Chan, Chair of the Tech For Good Institute; Ms Ellana Lee, Senior Vice President, Managing Editor, Asia Pacific, and Global Head of Productions at CNN; and Professor Frederick Ma, GBS, JP, Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Mr James Chau said: "Against this backdrop, we often hear Hong Kong described as a super connector, typically framed in terms of trade volumes, capital markets and logistics but I think that these connections that we're speaking of really only become very valuable and we understand and recognize the human bonds that pin these together."

Professor Frederick Ma , GBS, JP said: "We are part of China. And yet we are under one country 2 systems connected to the rest of the world. That is the power of Hong Kong."

Ms Ellana Lee said: "We made a very strategic decision when the times were tough to stay and remain in Hong Kong. I think that has and you know, we make these decisions not just out of a whim, but we are very calculative on why we need to stay. I have 8 cities across Asia Pacific. Hong Kong happens to be the hub for Asia Pacific. And there's it boils down to four major reasons."

Ms IIaria Chan: "Simple of how tech is helping people, there is an organization, WHO care for children that was founded 20 years ago that helps orphans in developing China back then Vietnam, Thailand now in Africa, Middle East to find loving permanent homes. But their bottleneck is how they train social workers and governments on how to take care of orphan welfare. Now this year we've actually been launching an online product that is able to scale these bottlenecks, especially in areas that are underfunded. This is a great example of Al tech."

Education: Hong Kong as Asia's education hub
This session was co-moderated by Mrs Jennifer Yu Cheng, JP, Founder of the Future Leaders Foundation, and Ms Jennifer Ma, Founder of JM Edu Consulting. Speakers included Ms Maggie Chau, School Partnership Advisor at the Academy for Educational Development and Innovation of The Education University of Hong Kong; Mr Dion CHEN, MH, Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council; and Professor Charles Ng Wang-Wai, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Mrs Jennifer Yu Cheng, JP said: "An education hub is more than a place with excellent institutions. It is a place that students and families choose, where young people flourish, and connects education with research, innovation, careers and a wider community."

Professor Charles Ng said: "With our national policy. And I think we should do better to support this great initiatives and thinking back actually 2023 and home government already in in the government policy in October, if I remember correctly to start to increase the local student quota from 20% to 40%."

Ms Jennifer Ma said: "As a consultant we need demand to meet supply and we are definitely seeing the demand for Hong Kong education at K12 level…….The advocacy for Hong Kong to be the gateway for China Resources and talents to leave China and go into international arenas. But at the same time, we also see a lot of international people interested in what's happening in mainland, and therefore Hong Kong is a great gateway. So, with that global education, global education philosophy, that means they really appreciate Hong Kong trilingual education by cultural mindset."

Mr Dion CHEN, MH mentioned: "In 2026, a lot of DSS schools will work very hard to try to welcome and also promote welcome to Hong Kong and also promote Hong Kong's education to the students in different countries."

Ms Maggie Chau said: "Maggie: I can see that all the universities are actually implementing AI in their curriculum. Talking about teacher education, the programs we offer, I mean, not just The Education University of Hong Kong, the programs we offer in all universities implement Al in the curriculum in a way that we draw attention to the use of Al is it has to be ethical."

Capital markets: AI listings, asset tokenisation and the new economy
This session was moderated by Ms Emily CHAN Tan, a former CNBC anchor. Speakers included Ms Bonnie Y Chan, JP; Ms Clara CHAN Ka Chai, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited; Mr Michael Lau, Senior Vice President and Head of Group Business Development at Bullish and Chairman of Consensus; and Mr Samuel RHEE, Co-founder, Chairman and Group Chief Investment Officer of Endowus.

Ms Clara CHAN Ka Chai said: "We always say that from zero to 1 is the most challenging part. So, the patients in terms of having staying power is the core, but it has to go in hand with other qualities like being proactive, being professional."

Mr Michael Lau said: "I think it's an interesting proposition to consider that these types of companies that are so capital. I would start looking beyond the current horizon of where we are to see where it could go next. And so I do think that there is a demand looking to that future where this idea of a tokenized capital market could be quite interesting."

Mr Samuel RHEE mentioned: "First of all, maybe we just take a step back and just try to understand all of the capital markets, not just equities."

Ms Bonnie Y Chan, JP said: "I want to point out one thing. I mean, we are operating a stock exchange and I think capital markets at the end of the day, the basic function is to match capital with opportunity. So what I'm very focused on is that I'm not just focused on technology or AI."

Ms Emily CHAN Tan said: "We are not just witnessing a cyclical recovery, but also some would call this the threshold of a capital markets renaissance."

Life and health technology: building a health-industry hub
This session was moderated by Professor Lo Yuk-lam, BBS, Founding President of the Hong Kong Biotechnology Organisation. Speakers included Professor LI King-Chuen, Founding Dean of the School of Medicine at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Dr Sarah SALVILLA, Director of Health and Strategic Partnerships at FWD Group; and Professor Anthony Wu Ting-yuk, GBS, JP, former Chairman of the Hospital Authority and Non-executive Chairman of Trinity Medical Group. The discussion focused on how AI in healthcare can strengthen the competitiveness of Hong Kong's health industry.

Professor Lo Yuk-lam, BBS said: "Building HK's holistic wellness hub, this year marks a defining moment for HK. With the release of our first ever five year plan and their chief executive policy address just a few weeks ago, our city's road map for healthcare and biotechnology knowledge has never been clearer or more ambitious."

Professor Anthony Wu Ting-yuk, GBS, JP said: "Every country every city is trying to recruit more talent and I think Hong Kong is an ideal position to attract talents."

Professor LI King-Chuen said: "Our education system will be individualized. And we will do the factual knowledge transfer through mostly self-directed learning. So we guide them, we build an AI system with prescribed information."

Dr Sarah SALVILLA said: "Prevention for sure in terms of how do we educate people to be much more proactive in their everyday lives, yes you know, kind of the lifestyle things."

Start-up pitching: connecting with capital
The closing session was moderated by business journalist Ms Elaine Yu, with Mr LU Chin Yung, Senior Vice President (Start-ups) of the Sector Specialist Group at Invest Hong Kong. Representatives of 11 venture funds were present, including the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, Clee Capital, Click Ventures, GT Healthcare Capital Partners, Gobi Partners GBA, HKSTP Ventures, MindWorks Capital, Ryoden Medical Holdings, Seveno Capital, Verge HealthTech Fund and W2 Venture Partners. Together, the funds manage an estimated US$10 billion, have invested in more than 600 start-ups across more than 30 economies, and have backed at least nine unicorns, including Airwallex, Animoca Brands, Prenetics and GoGoX. Start-ups taking part in the pitching session included CELLmeric, Entoptica, PointFit, Syngular, Kodifly, AilsynBio, EveryBaby, A-grade, Orimmune Biotech, Nordia Biotech, Oncolmmu Nostics Limited, The Harbour School (THS), VisionBridge, Eden's Garden, and CARE CONNECT.

Ms Elaine Yu said: "We have 15 startups and I think a group of students as well, very precocious students WHO are already thinking of ideas, real businesses with commercial viability at the cutting edge of science, research, healthcare and so forth. So, this should be a fun dynamic session."

Mr LU Chin Yung pointed out: "Hong Kong is great in a lot of rankings in the world and this is not given, this is hard earned by your parents, by some of you sitting here. But as a young founder in Hong Kong, if you come to Hong Kong, you get to enjoy all this very safe environment. You have efficiency and then you also have a very clean government. This one I can say for sure. Yeah. And and all this, it helps the the founders to focus on your business, focus on grow, growing instead of you have to deal with many, many things."

The Summit closed amid lively exchange. Hong Kong Youth Professional Global Advocacy said it will continue to build the Summit into a platform for dialogue between young professionals and leading figures in government and business, helping Hong Kong's young talent seize the opportunities of the new economy.

Photos and video: Selected materials can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XowvT4PLTkLo-Vx6k8UJ_YyuM0O0wSlQ?usp=sharing .
Official hashtag: #GYPS2026

Venture fund	Profile
Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund	A HK$1 billion venture fund under Alibaba Group; has invested in 84 start-ups and nurtured seven unicorns
Clee Capital	A Hong Kong venture fund focused on start-up and private equity investment
Click Ventures	A pioneer Hong Kong early-stage technology investor; now invests in 20 funds as a family office
W2 Venture Partners	Venture fund (profile to be supplemented)
Gobi Partners GBA	A pan-Asian venture platform managing about US$2 billion, with cumulative investments in more than 400 companies
GT Healthcare Capital Partners	A Hong Kong healthcare investment fund with investments across North America and Europe
HKSTP Ventures	The corporate venture arm of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, investing directly in seed to Series A start-ups
MindWorks Capital	A Hong Kong pan-Asian venture fund focused on logistics, fintech and enterprise technology
Ryoden Medical Holdings	A Hong Kong healthcare family office investing in biotechnology and regenerative medicine
Seveno Capital	A Singapore longevity and health-technology fund with US$70 million in committed capital over five years
Verge HealthTech Fund	A Hong Kong and Singapore digital-health venture fund with investments across 17 countries

Annex 2: Attending guests (in no particular order)

Guest	Title	Guest	Title
Ms Chan Hoi-yee	Director, Office of the Vice Chairman, Esquel Group	Ms Ilaria Chan	Chair, Tech For Good Institute
Ms Clara Chan	Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited	Ms Chan Nga-ying	Former CNBC anchor
Ms Bonnie Y Chan, JP	Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited	Mr James Chau	President, China-United States Exchange Foundation, and World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainable Development Goals
Ms Irene Chow	School Partnership Advisor, Academy for Educational Development and Innovation (AEDI), The Education University of Hong Kong	Mr Bryan Che	Chief Strategy Officer, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Mr Adrian Chan, MH	Vice-Chairman, Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council	Mrs Carrie Cheng, JP	Founder, Future Leaders Foundation
Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, SBS, JP	Deputy Secretary for Justice, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region	Mr Kevin Choi, JP	Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry
Ms Cindy Chow	Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund	Dr Kevin Lau, MH	Founding Convenor, Hong Kong Youth Professional Global Advocacy
Mr Lau Tak-ho	Senior Vice President and Head of Group Business Development, Bullish, and Chairman, Consensus	Ms Ellana Lee	Senior Vice President, Managing Editor, Asia Pacific, and Global Head of Productions, CNN
Professor King Li	Founding Dean, School of Medicine, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	Professor Lo Yuk-lam, BBS	Founding President, Hong Kong Biotechnology Organisation
Mr Raymond Lui	Senior Vice President (Start-ups), Sector Specialist Group, Invest Hong Kong	Ms Michelle Ma	Founder, JM Edu Consulting
Professor Frederick Ma, GBS, JP	Chairman, Hong Kong Trade Development Council	Professor Charles Ng	Vice-President for Institutional Advancement, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Mr Samuel Rhee	Co-founder, Chairman and Group Chief Investment Officer, Endowus	Dr Sit Wai-nga	Director, Health and Strategic Partnerships, FWD Group
Professor Anthony Wu, GBS, JP	Former Chairman, Hospital Authority, and Non-executive Chairman, 全仁醫療集團	Ms Elaine Yu	Business Journalist
Ms Jeanne Cheng, JP	District Officer (Central and Western)	Dr Elsie Leung, GBM, JP	Former Secretary for Justice, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Professor Teresa Cheng, GBM, GBS, SC, JP	Secretary-General, International Organization for Mediation, and former Secretary for Justice	The Hon Tommy Cheung, GBM, GBS, JP	Non-official Member, Executive Council
The Hon Dr Lam Ching-choi, GBS, JP	Non-official Member, Executive Council	The Hon Chan Hoi-fung, BBS, MH, JP	Legislative Council Member
The Hon Chan Kin-por, GBM, GBS, JP	Non-official Member, Executive Council	The Hon Nixie Lam	Legislative Council Member
Mr Andrew Yao, SBS, JP	Hong Kong Deputy to the 14th National People's Congress	Professor Herman Hu, GBS, JP	Hong Kong Deputy to the 14th National People's Congress
Mr Gordon Lam	Hong Kong Deputy to the 14th National People's Congress	Mr Chan Chung-ni, SBS, JP	Hong Kong Deputy to the 14th National People's Congress
Mr Ho Hon-kuen, BBS, MH	Hong Kong Member, 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference	Mr Tu Haiming, BBS	Hong Kong Member, 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Mr Kung Wing-tak	Hong Kong Member, 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference	Dr Lo Kam-wing, BBS, JP	Hong Kong Member, 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and President, The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong
Mr Li Tai-chong, SBS, OM, JP	Member, National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference	The Hon Lam Wai-chuen	Legislative Council Member
The Hon Lau Man-kwan, JP	Legislative Council Member	The Hon Chong Ho-fung	Legislative Council Member
The Hon Lee Kwong-yu, MH	Legislative Council Member	The Hon Leung Tsz-wing, MH	Legislative Council Member
Mr Ng Yuk-yeung	Hong Kong Member, 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference	The Hon Fong Kwok-shan	Legislative Council Member
The Hon Lau Ka-keung, BBS, MH, JP	Legislative Council Member	The Hon Revd Canon Peter Koon, SBS, JP	Legislative Council Member
Mr Pablo Macedo Riba	Consul General of Mexico in Hong Kong	Dr Esteban Ramírez González	Consul General of Mexico in Hong Kong
Mr Alberto Martínez	Representative, Consulate General of Spain in Hong Kong	Ms Silvia Civera	Representative, Consulate General of Spain in Hong Kong
Mr Javier Sampedro	Commercial Representative, Consulate General of Spain in Hong Kong	Mr Juha Niemi	Consul General of Finland in Hong Kong and Macao
Mr O'Brien Ernesto Guerra Córdova	Consul General of Venezuela in Hong Kong	Mr Ammala Saenchonghack	Consul General of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in Hong Kong
Mr Riaz Ahmed Shaikh	Consul General of Pakistan in Hong Kong	Mr Yos Sokhemrin	Consul General of Cambodia in Hong Kong
Mr Maurits Ter Kulve	Consul General of the Netherlands in Hong Kong	Ms Lim Kim Suan	Consul General of Brunei Darussalam in Hong Kong
Mr Hassan Doutaghi	Consul General of Iran in Hong Kong	Mr Ali Abdulla Al-Hitmi	Deputy Consul General of Qatar in Hong Kong
Ms Helen Silvester	British Council	Mr Wilhelm Brauner	Belgium-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce
Professor Sin Kuen-fung, MH	Co-Executive Director, Academy for Educational Development and Innovation, The Education University of Hong Kong	Mr Lam Siu-hong, JP	Commissioner for Youth, Home and Youth Affairs Bureau
Mr Arnold Lau	Assistant Director-General, Invest Hong Kong	Professor James Dai	Associate Dean of Students, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Dr Chan Pui-yin	Vice-President, Hong Kong Medical Association	Ms Cecilia Ho	Chief Executive, Lee Hysan Foundation
Mr Quentin Merour	Consulate General of France in Hong Kong	Ms Christine Ma Lau	Founder and Principal, JEMS Character Academy
Ms Agnes Chan, BBS	Senior Advisor, Office of the Chairman, Greater China, EY	Ms Melissa Pang, BBS, MH, JP	Former President, The Law Society of Hong Kong, and Member, National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Mr Patrick Yeung	Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce	Ms Kimberly Kwok	Founder, Mighty Oaks
Mr Larry Chiang	Founder and Chief Executive Officer, International Finance Capital Group Limited	Ms Sophia Kao, GBS, JP	Former Chairperson, Women's Commission, and founding Chairperson, Financial Reporting Council
Ms Marie Mercy	Consulate General of France in Hong Kong	Mr Peter Shum	Deputy Chairman of Federation of Hong Kong Industries
Mr Daryl Lin	JCI Hong Kong	Mr Jacky Chung	Hong Kong Trade Development Council (represented by Mr Andrew Chui)
Mr Silas Chu	Hong Kong Trade Development Council	Mr Lot Chan	Assistant Director of Health (Preparatory Office for Centre for Medical Products Regulation)
Dr Jeff Lee	Head of the Health Informatics and Technology Office

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