香港成物聯網創業樂土 Hong Kong promotes tech credentials to lure entrepreneurs

As he scoured Europe to find parts last year, German entrepreneur Florian Simmendinger was able only to locate a handful of motors small enough for the wearable, smartphone-controlled metronome he was building to help musicians keep the beat — and even they were too weak.

去年遍訪歐洲尋找元件時，德國企業家弗洛裏安纏餶丁格(Florian Simmendinger)只能找到爲數不多的幾款足夠小的馬達，可以裝入他爲幫助音樂家保持節拍而打造的、用智能手機控制的可穿戴式節拍器中——而且這些馬達的振動效果太弱了。

But a move to Hong Kong in November jump-started the development of his product, as he was soon able to find everything he needed in the sprawling Chinese manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, just across the border.

但是，去年11月的一次香港之行卻使他能夠開始一款產品的研發，因爲在地處香港對面、不斷擴張的中國內地製造業中心深圳，他很快發現了他所需的一切元件。

“In Shenzhen, they sell every motor that has ever gone into a consumer product and I was able to get the one I needed, which is 600 per cent stronger than a mobile phone,” he says as he shows off his $99 Soundbrenner Pulse, which looks like a watch and emits vibrations rather than an intrusive tick-tock sound.

“在深圳，他們銷售用在消費品上的所有類型的馬達，而我能找到我所需要的那一款，比手機的震動強6倍，”他在展示其售價99美元的Soundbrenner Pulse節拍器時表示。這款節拍器看起來像一塊手錶，只不過它發出的是震動，而不是滴答滴答的惱人聲音。

Mr Simmendinger is one of a growing number of international entrepreneurs moving to Hong Kong to set up businesses focused on the so-called internet of things (IoT), developing products that use the latest digital technology to enhance everyday items from headphones to electricity meters.

就像西蒙丁格一樣，越來越多的國際企業家來到香港創辦公司，專注於所謂的“物聯網”(IoT)領域，研發可利用最新數字技術的產品，以提升從頭戴式耳機到電錶等各種日常用品的功能。

They are attracted by Hong Kong’s unique position, on the doorstep of a vast market and manufacturing base in China but benefiting from a British-influenced legal system, straight-forward regulations and low tax.

他們被香港獨特的條件所吸引，這裏是通往中國內地這個龐大市場和製造業基地的門戶，卻擁有受到英國影響的法律體系、明確的法規以及較低的稅率等優勢。

Cities and nations are racing to emulate the success of Silicon Valley and Hong Kong is particularly keen to promote its credentials as a tech hub because the economy is under pressure as tourism and luxury retail have been hit by a drop in Chinese visitors caused by a corruption crackdown in China and rising political tensions with Beijing.

很多城市和國家都在競相效仿硅谷，而香港在經濟面臨壓力的背景下，格外熱衷於提升自身作爲科技中心的聲譽。由於中國內地的反腐運動以及香港與北京日益升溫的政治緊張氣氛使得內地到港遊客減少，香港的旅遊業和奢侈品零售受到了打擊。

“The government knows that we can’t continue to rely on financial services, retail and tourism,” says Allen Ma, chief executive of Hong Kong Science Park, one of two slick campuses built by the government to promote the technology industry in the early 2000s.

“政府明白，我們不能再繼續依賴於金融服務業、零售業以及旅遊業了，”香港科技園(Hong Kong Science Park)的行政總裁馬錦星(Allen Ma)稱。該科技園是香港政府在本世紀頭十年初期，爲促進科技產業發展而建設的兩個園區之一。

While the Science Park and its counterpart Cyberport have been in operation for more than a decade, Hong Kong’s tech industry struggled to grow because of a lack of experienced venture capitalists, the small size of the domestic market (only 7m people) and a risk-averse business culture.

儘管科技園與數碼港(Cyberport)已經運營了十餘年，但是由於缺乏有經驗的風險投資家、本土市場較小（僅有700萬人口）以及不愛冒險的企業文化，香港的科技業一度發展艱難。

But investors say that has started to change in the past year or two as entrepreneurs have realised that Hong Kong is well placed to capitalise on two fast-growing global sectors: the IoT and financial technology.

但是投資者稱，近一兩年來，隨着企業家逐漸發現香港在利用全球兩大快速發展領域——物聯網和金融技術——方面具有得天獨厚的條件，情況已經開始發生改變。

David Lynch, head of technology for DBS in China and Hong Kong, says Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s leading financial centres makes it an ideal location for start-ups focused on banking technology in Asia and beyond.

新加坡星展銀行(DBS)中國內地與香港科技總監林大衛(David Lynch)稱，香港作爲世界主要金融中心之一的地位，使之成爲創辦面向亞洲及其他地區、專注於金融技術的企業的理想地點。

“Banking as we know it is being unbundled, and unless we participate actively in this ecosystem, there is a real chance that ourselves and other banks will be left behind,” he says.

他說：“衆所周知，銀行業正在細分，除非我們積極參與到這個生態系統中，否則我們和其他銀行很有可能會被甩在後面。”

When it comes to financial technology, Hong Kong start-ups are going head-to-head with rivals in other banking centres such as Singapore and London. But David Chen, who runs an investment group called AngelVest, says Hong Kong has a big competitive advantage in developing IoT technology.

在金融技術領域，香港初創企業正在與新加坡和倫敦等其他金融中心的競爭對手展開正面交鋒。但是投資集團天使谷(AngelVest)的聯合創始人陳泰傑(David Chen)稱，香港在發展物聯網技術方面具有很大的競爭優勢。

“For IoT, we see Hong Kong as much more advantageous than other places like Singapore because of its proximity to Shenzhen and the ease with which you can rapidly develop prototypes,” says Mr Chen.

“對於物聯網，我們認爲香港比新加坡等其他地區有利得多，因爲其毗鄰深圳，並具備你可以快速開發原型的便利條件，”陳泰傑稱。

Shenzhen has a thriving start-up scene of its own but Isaac Mao, a Chinese entrepreneur, says Hong Kong is better suited to smaller companies that want to expand internationally.

深圳本身就呈現出一派欣欣向榮的創業景象，但是中國創業者毛向輝(Isaac Mao)稱，香港更適合希望在國際上發展的較小型公司。

“It’s much easier to start a business in Hong Kong, the intellectual property protection is much better and there are no internet restrictions as there are in the mainland.”

“與內地相比，在香港創辦公司要簡單得多，知識產權保護也好得多，並且沒有像內地那樣的互聯網限制。”