FHKI Industrialist Forum 2018

The Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI), with support of HKSTP, KPMG and KPMG organized the Industrialist Forum to provide platform where industrialists, investors/capital providers, academia and government officials exchanged views on the prospects of Hong Kong industries.  Industrialist Forum 2018 was held on 30^th May 2018, which aimed to tie in technology and innovation initiatives rolled by the HKSAR government in Policy Address and the Budget so as to look into the prospectus of advanced manufacturing in Hong Kong.  I met HKSQ senior member Mr. Albert Cheung who was one of speakers in the forum and we took a photo for memory.

In the beginning, Mr. Jimmy Kwok (Chairman, FHKI) gave a welcome speech.  Firstly, he briefed HKSAR government new initiative to support industries and SME.  He mentioned that cooperation between government and industries could create new market and new value.  

Mr. Paul Chan, GBM, GBS, MH, JP (Financial Secretary, HKSAR) was guest-of-honour and gave opening speech.  He said Innovation and Entrepreneurship were a global trend.  Since ITB established in 2015, we were not discussed “Do or Not” but “How to catch up”.  He shared his visit on Hangzhou (杭州) and Guizhou (貴州) and observed their development on internet, big data, AI and smart city, etc. He said we had world class universities, top tier talents, excellence legal system, and IP protection, etc. He had confident that Hong Kong to be Global Innovation and Technology Centre.  

Group photo

AM Session – Plug into I&T for New Businesses

The first keynote speaker was Mr.Nicholas Yang, GBS, JP (Secretary for Innovation and Technology, HKSAR) and his topic entitled “Innovation and Technology Initiatives Rolled out by the Government”.  Firstly, he briefed several new policies on Innovation and Technology (I&T) especially on Re-industrialization.  We focused on Advance Manufacturing, AI, Data Analytics, etc. to retain and attract high value-added industries in Hong Kong. He added that we had new infrastructure, HKPC & HKSTP co-working space, ITFs and education input such as post-doc subsidies.  He hoped to lead re-industrialization through Government-Industry-University-Institute (官產學研) collaboration. 

The second keynote speaker was Mr. TK Chiang (Managing Director, CLP Power HK Ltd.) and his presentation named “Digital Utility of the Future”. In the beginning, Mr. Chiang said that technology changed the world, making yesterday’s impossible into today’s possible.  

Then Mr. Chiang mentioned CLP Power’s Smart and Innovative Initiatives included Smart Environment, Smart Operation, Smart Energy Management, Smart Mobility and Smart Grid.  

After that he selected three of initiatives for sharing.  The first one was Smart Environment that their electricity sales increase but total emission reduced through deploying new gas storage and generation technologies so as to driving for better air quality and lower carbon. Secondary, Feed-In Tariff would be effective on 1^st Oct 2018 to encourage private PV system connection to Grid so that we could play a part in combating climate change.  Another initiative was used VR for Power System Training.  At the end, he introduced CLP Smart Energy Experience Centre which employed AI Chatbot and smart home system where some technologies were from Science Park companies.

Dr. NT Cheung (Head (IT & Health Informatics) & Chief Medical Informatics Officer, Hong Kong Hospital Authority) was the third keynote speaker and his presentation title was “The Data-Driven, Cloud-Powered Mobile Future of Healthcare in Hong Kong”.  He briefed the Hong Kong’s Dual Track Healthcare System included public (2.8% GDP with 88% inpatients) and private (2.9%GDP with 12% inpatients).  Then he introduced Hospital Authority which established in 1991 and their eHealthe journey.

After that Dr. Cheung briefed Clinical Management System (CMS) IV – 5Ps and they were Patient Centred, Paperless, Protocol Driven, Closed Loop and Personalized.  Then he stated 3 key disruptive technologies we faced were Mobile, Cloud & IoT, as well as, Big Data & Machine Learning.  And then he briefed IT Innovation Framework to us.  HA Data Collaboration Lab (HADCL) was employed that HA Cloud together with HA Data would improve HA’s care delivery so as to enhance care quality and efficiency. 

Finally, he briefed HA’s Big Data included 11M patients, 467M episodes of care, 2.7B laboratory results, 3.7M operation records, 990M drug items and 100TB radiology images per year, etc.  He also share Hong Kong Healthcare Cloud vision to us at the end.

Mr. Andy Bien (Chief Information Officer, The Airport Authority Hong Kong) was the fourth keynote speaker and his topic was “The Smart Airport”.  Firstly, Mr. Bien briefed HKIA was the third busy airport in the world and was the first busy on air cargo traffic in 2017.  

Then Mr. Bien stated the traffic growth at HKIA upto 155% of Passenger, 206% of Cargo and 158% of Air Traffic Movement from 1998 to 2017!  They had the following challenges including rapid grow, capacity constraint, labor shortage and passenger expectation increased.  Therefore,  a new runway (3^rd Runway System) was planned to be built. 

After that Mr. Bien briefed they made use of innovation and technology to enhance efficiency and deliver superior passenger experience.  Some key enabling technologies for Smart Airport Vision were mentioned such as Advanced Biometrics (single token for passenger journey), Mobile & Self Service Technology (Check-in Anywhere Anytime), Robotics (Baggage Loading Assistance and Automated Bridge Docking) and Digital Twin (Combined use of GIS, BIM, 3D Reality Model for visualization and modelling data).  

Finally, he shared their collaboration with the industry including HKSTP, Cyberport, R&D centres, HKPC, ASTRI and universities.  He also introduced their unique Hong Kong Invention included Next Generation Check-in Kiosk (iCUSS), Automatic AEL Inspection, My Tag, Trolley Availability Management, AR Signage Translation, AR Way Finding and Hybrid RFID/Barcode Scanner. 

Successful Case Study (I)

Dr. Miles Wen (CEO, Fano Labs Limited) shared his case named “The Rise of Speech and Natural Language Processing Technologies”.  In the beginning, he introduced that Fano Labs is one of world’s best AI company in developing enterprise-scale speech and natural language processing technologies, with specialties in dialects.  

AI Chatbot of CLP Smart Energy Experience Centre was one of their project and Dr. Wen showed the video to demonstrate how clever the dialect was. 

Successful Case Study (II)

Mr. Simon Wong (CEO, Hong Kong R&D Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management Enabling Technologies (LSCM)) shared his application case named “Airport Technology Innovation by LSCM”.  Mr. Wong introduced LSGM centre which established in 2006 and hosted by HKU, CUHK and HKUST.  Their service included to conduct industry-oriented researches and providing consultance and market intelligence so as to facilitating IP commercialization.

Then he briefed airport technology solutions by LSCM including Airfield, Terminal and Cargo Centre, Baggage System, Infrastructure and Customer Service.  

In panel discussion session, Mr. Steve Chuang (Chairman, Hong Kong Electronics Industry Council, FHKI) was the chair of this session.

PM Session – Advanced Manufacturing: Way for HK Industries Moving Forward

Dr. Bernard Chan (Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, HKSAR) was special guest and gave a guest speech.  He said Hong Kong had spirit of entrepreneurship.  Then he mentioned the competitiveness of Hong Kong was still in high position.  He shared some directions of focus such as Government to Government (G2G), Exhibition & Tourism synergy effect, New Financial Funding (e.g. PASS) and Design Thinking.

Ms. Irene Chu (Head of New Economy and Life Sciences, KPMG) was the first keynote speaker in PM Session and her topic was “The Competitive Edge of Hong Kong in New Economy”.  In the beginning, Ms. Chu briefed Hong Kong government role for the development of the new economy including New IPO Ruling, New Policies and New Budget.

Then she briefed some strategy between Hong Kong Smart City and the Greater Bay Area (GBA).  After that Ms. Chu mentioned industries had the ability to strengthen Hong Kong such as Talent Pool, Government push factor and Investments.

At the end she introduced the transformation journey through nine steps to enhance competitive edge of Hong Kong in New Economy.

Mr. Kevin Brisebois (Director, Radius Innovation & Development, A Jabil Company) was the second keynote speaker and his presentation topic named “Digital Factory of the Future and Low Volume High Mix Management”.  He said that technology change causing two major shifts.  They were consumer expectation RISING and Barriers to entry for new competition DROPPING.  

Mr. Brisebois answered to surviving and thriving in the world of change that were Innovation, Speed, Agility and Trusted Partnerships.  Then he introduced their company which was a global leader in Supply Chain Expertise and its capability to assist manufacturers to fit the change.  

Finally, he introduced their real-time global information and intelligence service including Big data analytics, Machine to Machine (M2M) Learning, Cognitive Computing and E2E ecosystem visibility.  Its innovation for the future steps were stated as conclusion.  

The third keynote speaker in the PM Session was Dr. Wang Qi-yuan (Vice Manager, Robot Technical Centre, Shanghai-Fanuc Robotics Co., Ltd.) and his presentation title named “FANUC Robot and Intelligent Manufacturing”.  He briefed their mother company established in 1972 in Japan.  They had three types of services such as Factory Automation, ROBOT and ROBO MACHINE. 

Dr. Wang briefed how machine learning employed in their product. Moreover, they could increase robotic arms for machine learning to reduce the learning time.

The fourth keynote speaker was Mr. Tony Leung (Program Manager, ERI@N Accelerator, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) and his topic entitled “Overview of Advanced Manufacturing (Singapore) through Science and Technology”.  He said Industry 4.0 mean employees needed to master new digital skills and change their mindset.

Then Mr. Tony Leung briefed the trends including Digitization, AR & VR, Additives Manufacturing, 3D Printing Technology, Automation & Robots with AI, Cloud enabled Smart Factory, Data Driven, Sustainable Manufacturing, etc.   In here, Sustainable Manufacturing Process was briefed and they aimed to fulfill the projection of Singapore Carbon Emission by 2020.

After that Mr. Leung introduced Singapore Research and Innovation structure supported by NRF. Their Research, Innovation and Enterprise – RIE 2020 plan was also described.  

The Singapore Smart Industry Readiness Index had briefed as following diagram.  Lastly, he discussed the challenges of Singapore’s Advanced Manufacturing as follows:

-          Pressure from both regional competition and domestic restructuring

-          Rising operational costs, a domestic labor crunch and weakening Singapore dollar

-          Revamp manufacturing model into more innovation-based and high-value production

-          Adopt the Industry 4.0 model to enable digitalization and automation

After Coffee Break, the fifth keynote speakers were Mr. Lyan Law (Lead Consultant, Industry 4.0, HKPC) and Mr. Albert Cheung (Senior Manager, Trio Engineering Co., Ltd.) and their presentation title named “Making Industry 4.0 Happen for Hong Kong Industry”.  Mr. Lyan Law introduced HKPC smart manufacturing transformation for re-industrialization policy.  Firstly, he briefed their partner named Fraunhofer IPT from Germany to deploy Industry 4.0 for upgrading of SMEs in Hong Kong.  

Then Mr. Law introduced “Industrie 4.0 Smart Operation, Manufacturing & Factory Upgrade and Recognition Programme” which developed by Fraunhofer IPT & HKPC.  They provided an assessment model for OBM, ODM & OEM to evaluate industries’ “i4.0 Maturity Level & Migration Strategy”.  

In the following diagram, Hong Kong’s industries were in -1i to 0i level but Germany industries were stated from 1i to 3i level.

Mr. Albert MP Cheung was the second speaker who introduced TRIO journey towards Industry 4.0 through HKPC assistance.  They would like to transform their traditional production to smart factory for EMS products. Therefore, TRIO invited Frauhofer IPT and HKPC industry 4.0 experts to conduct “Industry 4.0 innovation management and technology assessment” on 24^th Oct 2016.  

There were 3 steps towards Smart Enterprise as follows:

Phase One: Onsite evaluation of maturity level

Phase Two: Tailor-made i4.0 training and implemented pilot projects

Phase Three: implementation and achievement of i4.0 factory recognition

Finally, Mr. Albert Cheung told us their future development on Industry 4.0 were including “Data Transparency & Acquisition”, “Smart Data Analytics”, “Digital Tools Adoption & Development” and “Digital Key Performance Indicator”

Ms. Karmen Yeung (Partner, China Tax / Head of Industrial Manufacturing, KPMG) was the sixth keynote speaker and her topic was “Unveil the Comparative Advantage of Hong Kong”.  She raised that general tax considerations should be comparative advantage of HK.

Ms. Yeung said the existing tax policies was not enough to attract R&D but there were some policies changed recently.  It enhanced R&D incentive as following diagram.  

Lastly, Ms. Yeung used US Section 301 as example to explain the risk that should be considered.

Mr. Francis Lai (Senior Consultant, HKPC) was the seventh speaker and his topic named “Survey Findings & Insight of Strategic Industry Study on “Advanced Manufacturing in Hong Kong”.  He introduced that HKPC conducted a study to investigate and analyze the needs of those industries which were interested in setting up operations in Hong Kong in 2015.  Now, HKSTP was going to establish an Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC) in Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate in 2021-2022.

Then Mr. Francis Lai introduced their industry-wide study to update the needs and expectations in setting up advanced manufacturing operations in Hong Kong.  There were 500 questionnaires included 200 companies and then selected 20 companies for interview.  The key findings identified sensitive technologies and processes with IP right was best fit in Hong Kong. Key consideration was integrity of HK citizens and good quality image on “Made-in-HK” brand.  However, the key challenge was lack of industrial land, high rental fee and operation costs. 

The ranking of Industry with interest in setting up operation in HK were discussed and the top three were Electronics products plus IT, Robotics and automation equipment, and Precision metal parts plus precision mould & die.  Finally, some expectations such as “Products made in AMC” for promotion, waste treatment facilities, shuttle bus, cleanroom, etc. were discussed.  

Ir. Dr. HL Yiu (Head of Advanced Manufacturing, HKSTP) was the last keynote speaker and his topic entitled “Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Tseung Kwan O”.  Dr. Yiu would like to share re-industrialization around the world, industry engagements and findings, AMC and Technology Driven Re-industrialization.  (Beginning, he told us a joke that his initial HL means High Mix Low Volume that was manufacturer facing challenge.)

Dr. Yiu shared Mckinsey insights on manufacturing the future in the following four points:

1.      Manufacturing’s role is changing.

2.      Manufacturing is not monolithic.

3.      New dynamic era for manufacturing.

4.      Manufacturers and policy makers need new approaches and capabilities.

Then USA experience was discussed.

Singapore experience was also discussed.  

After that he said AMC is a pilot project for establishing smart production in Hong Kong that comprised modern industrial premises for highly automated production, high precision assembly and distribution of products and embedded service.  Dr. Yiu said the provisions and service as well as building specification could cover 90% of advance manufacturing needs.  

At the end, Dr. Yiu briefed the expected ecosystem in AMC included four dimension and they were “Shared Production Quality Testing”, “Co-located Testing Certifications”, “Communal Warehouse” and “Shared Techshop for Personalized High-Mix Manufacturing”. 

Reference:

FHKI - https://www.industryhk.org/en/

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20180213: FHKI Seminar on Bay Area Soar by Innovation and Industrial Upgrading Opportunities (大灣創新騰飛, 工業升級良機) - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.com/2018/02/fhki-seminar-on-bay-area-soar-by.html