Today, the company behind RISE and “the world’s most influential tech event”, Web Summit, announced that RISE will be returning to Hong Kong in March 2022 as an in-person event. 

RISE was launched in Hong Kong in 2015, where it has already been successfully hosted five times and where, according to CNBC, it has become Asia’s largest tech event. 

Over the years, the event has gathered many thousands of global tech founders, startups, investors and members of the media to the city. The event has become an important opportunity for eastern and western companies to make connections in new markets. 

Past speakers have included Alibaba co-founder and executive vice chairman Joseph Tsai, Stripe co-founder and president John Collison, Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson, and Sequoia Capital founding managing partner Neil Shen. 

“We are extremely grateful for the support the city of Hong Kong has given RISE over the last five years, and we couldn’t be more excited to return in-person in 2022. We’ve seen the region’s tech and startup economy grow from strength to strength since we launched RISE in 2015,” said Paddy Cosgrave, co-founder and CEO of RISE conference and Web Summit. 

“We always intended to come back to Hong Kong at some stage. RISE has grown to what it is today after five successful years in the city. The event has now become an important nexus that connects the east and the rest of the world. CEOs and investors from around the world want a window into the region, and vice versa,”  he continued. 

“I’m very excited to see RISE, a world-renowned tech event, returning to Hong Kong. This is a testimony of Hong Kong’s success to containing the pandemic and keeping infection rate among the lowest in the world, thereby giving international event organisers confidence that they can stage their events here safely. I am sure the staging of RISE will showcase Hong Kong’s capacity to deliver amid the challenges posed by the epidemic, and connect our tech start-up ecosystem with that of the globe. I look forward to welcoming more world class business events to Hong Kong, injecting new vigour into our economy.” said  Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development, Edward Yau. 

“We welcome the return of RISE to Hong Kong for another five years in 2022–2026. The city’s state-of-the-art infrastructure and venues, complemented with a favourable business environment and unique travel experiences, are all part of the equation reflecting Hong Kong’s appeal for international business events. With Hong Kong’s strategic location in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, event participants can also capitalise on the multitude of opportunities in the region. With the strong commitment to hygiene and safety across all community sectors, the city is gearing up for a new milestone, and the HKTB will continue to make its best efforts to maintain Hong Kong’s status as The World’s Meeting Place.” said HKTB chairman YK Pang.  

“Hosting RISE in the coming 5 years bears an impactful significance to the recovery of Hong Kong’s MICE sector, as it marks the return of top-class international events to Hong Kong. With stringent anti-epidemic measures in place and our quality service, we will continue to work closely with organisers to deliver world-class events to maintain Hong Kong as the Asia’s premier meeting hub and attract more international events to the city” added AsiaWorld-Expo chairman Ng Chi-kee. 

The city boasts a growing and diverse startup economy. Between 2018 and 2020, the number of local startups rose 28 percent to 3,360, with non-locals counting for 26 percent of founders. Additionally, in 2020, foreign direct investment to Hong Kong surged by 62 percent year-on-year, to US$119 billion, making Hong Kong the third largest FDI recipient in the world, behind the United States (US$156.3 billion) and mainland China (US$149.3 billion). According to the World Bank, Hong Kong is number three in the world for doing business. 

RISE will now take place as an in-person conference in AsiaWorld-Expo (the AWE) from March 14–17, 2022.