Hong Kong Startup News Roundup - 18 October 2020

McDonald’s Hong Kong Launches First Vegetarian Menu With Green Monday’s OmniPork Luncheon

Just shortly after Green Monday announced its record-breaking US$70 million funding round, which represented the largest of its kind in Asia, and the international recognition from Fortune, which placed the social enterprise on its 2020 list of leading companies tackling unmet global needs, Hong Kong’s plant-based group is making headlines again with this time with a long-term partnership that could represent an industry game-changer. 

Launching officially tomorrow (October 13), McDonald’s Hong Kong, whose franchise in the city has been operated by Citic Group and the Carlyle Group since 2017, the all-new vegetarian menu now available across over 400 outlets across Hong Kong and Macau. Developed together with Green Monday’s OmniFoods, the new menu at the city’s most popular fast food restaurant will feature six meatless dishes incorporating OmniPork Luncheon, the vegan-friendly substitute that even iconic local actress and singer Karena Lam has endorsed as an ambassador. 

Gen.T releases list featuring leaders of tomorrow - 8 Hong Kong based founders

The annual Gen.T List recognises 400 leaders of tomorrow who are shaping Asia’s future. They are the trailblazing entrepreneurs and creatives who are driving positive impact and catalysing change in Asia. 

The Gen.T List is out featuring 8 startup founders from Hong Kong including Sarah Garner (Retykle), Alvin Kwock (OneDegree), Walden Lam (unspun), Fred Ngan (Bowtie Life Insurance Company), Keith Rumjahn (OliveX), Jason Tu (MioTech), Miles Wen (Fano Labs)

A huge congratulations to all the founders featured and everyone else shaping the future of Aisa! 

HKU Business School Gathers Startup Founders to Nurture a Vibrant Startup Ecosystem 

Over 20 startup founders and practitioners, together with alumni from a wide range of industries and business backgrounds, assembled in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum on October 10, 2020, to discuss on a heat topic for startups – venture capital financing and to respond to the HKU Business School’s call for establishing a startup ecosystem.

Amidst the backdrop of the challenging local, regional and global economy, startup founders are facing more difficulties to stand out from the crowd, meet the investors’ expectations and achieve success in venture capital financing. HKU Business School stepped up its efforts in nurturing a vibrant startup ecosystem and launched the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, aiming to share the best practice on how entrepreneurs and reputable investors worked together to turn innovative idea into good business.  Being the Presidents of Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, Mr. Vincent Chan, Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia of Samena Capital, as well as Mr. K.O. Chia, Director of Grace Financial were invited to give out hints to the up-and-coming start-ups that may become the next unicorns.

GBA aims to become global fintech centre 

Of the four major bay areas in the world, the San Francisco Bay Area stands out in terms of its capabilities in technology. Giant players such as Facebook, Apple, and Intel are leading the technology innovation over there, with a total market cap of about US$2.8 trillion.

Yet since the launch of China's Greater Bay Area (GBA) initiative in 2017, the market has been discussing its prospects as a competitor to the San Francisco Bay Area.

In the GBA, 21 companies have made into the Fortune Global 500 list this year. Leading players in technology such as Tencent, Huawei, and Lenovo are on the list. Tencent's market cap has reached US$560 billion, and other unlisted companies such as Huawei and TikTok's parent company ByteDance have estimated valuations surpassing US$1 trillion.

Check out our GBA Whitepaper for more information: https://www.whub.io/s/gba

HK-based Talon Esports raises $2m seed round

Hong Kong-based esports organization Talon Esports has raises a $2 million seed round, led by South Korean investment firm Hana Ventures, to accelerate growth in Asia Pacific, according to an accouncement. 

Other participants int eh round include Widus Strategic Investments, New Wave Esports Corporation, Sprout Investments, Gavekal Family, EMC Capital, Animoca Brands, HZL Capital, Felix LaHaye (United Esports) along with various family offices and individuals. 

Talon Esports said it will use the proceeds to expand into new countries, titles and further develop its lifestyle value offering. 

Talon Esports was founded in 2017 by Sean Zhang and jarrold Tham and is headquartered in Hong Kong. The organization has teams competing in League of Legends, Arena of Valor, Overwatch, Rainbow 6, Clash Royale, Tekken 7, and Street Fighter V.