Hong Kong has introduced its largest delegation ever to the US client electronics commerce present CES because it strives to change into a international expertise hub, however US visa denials and the abruptly cancelled attendance of town’s expertise chief have cast a shadow over its efforts.
Some workers at exhibiting Hong Kong corporations didn’t make it to CES in Las Vegas due to visa rejections, lots of whom had expertise working at Chinese tech firms that had been blacklisted by the US authorities reminiscent of Huawei Technologies and SenseTime, individuals on the annual commerce present mentioned.
“A lot of people are not here today actually,” mentioned a workers member at one of many Hong Kong start-ups exhibiting at CES 2026. “A lot of people are one-man shows.”
Some additionally skilled tighter visa scrutiny and longer utility instances than earlier years, in accordance to one other workers member of one of many Hong Kong exhibitors.
Even so, Hong Kong’s presence at CES was bigger than in earlier years, with 61 firms, together with 47 from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), “all here”, mentioned HKSTP CEO Terry Wong.
The metropolis’s endeavours at CES this yr had been additionally clouded by the sudden cancellation of a deliberate journey by Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong.