Opening Remarks by Ir. Allen Yeung, JP, Government Chief Information Officer, at the “3rd edition of Cloud Expo Asia 2018” (with photo)

Mr Kiwanuka (CloserStill Media, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Mr Andy Kiwanuka), Charles (Legislative Council member Mr Charles Mok), Distinguished speakers, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning! It is my great pleasure to join you in the Cloud Expo Asia 2018. With so many cloud experts gathered in this Expo, I am not here today to tell you why cloud is important for your digital transformations, regardless of which industry you are in.

Instead, I will share with you what the Hong Kong government is doing in the area of Cloud Computing.

In fact, Hong Kong ranks 2nd in the Cloud Readiness Index 2018. Hong Kong is a prime location for setting up cloud service platform and building of high tier data centres.

We are an international financial, trading and logistics hub and home to regional offices and headquarters of many global corporations. For instance, 75 of world’s top 100 banks have set up their presence in Hong Kong.

In addition, we have a world-class ICT infrastructure. The 11 submarine and 20 overland cable systems and 11 satellites plus the services from Hong Kong Internet eXchange super-connect us to every part of the world speedily. Our total equipped capacity for external telecommunications currently stands at 58 terabits per second and is fast expanding.

A number of new cable systems, including HK-Los Angeles, HK-Guam are being built. In 2 to 3 years’ time, our equipped capacity will be quadrupled.

Due to these advantages, we have attracted many cloud service providers who have established or are in the process of establishing their cloud services in Hong Kong. They include Microsoft Azure, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Google, Amazon Web Service and Huawei.

My office has set up a one-stop Data Centre Facilitation Unit to assist any party who is interested in setting up a high tier data centre in Hong Kong. Please contact me or our office if you do need the assistance. Later this year, we will also auction two hectares of land dedicated for high tier data centres.

According to a recent survey conducted by Census and Statistics Department, over 70% of our local business establishments are making use of cloud computing services. This shows Hong Kong business community is embracing cloud technology.

For the government, we will build a new 13-storey data centre complex to meet the increasing demand for data centre services. Yes, 13-storeies! As HK is land-intensive. We have turned a traditionally flat data centre into a vertical compound. Unique for HK.

This Complex can address the government’s long-term needs in hosting IT services and cope with the ever-increasing public demand for reliable and convenient e-Government services. We also plan to create synergies in government data centre operations, hence enabling bureaux and departments to be more agile and adaptable to changes in business requirements and latest technology advancement.

To exploit the full potential of cloud computing and other new technologies in improving citizen’s quality of living, the government is committed to build Hong Kong into a world class smart city. In the Smart City Blueprint promulgated in last December, one major digital infrastructure project is to build the next generation government cloud and big data analytics platform.

In which, we will revitalise our existing cloud infrastructure and its related standards and frameworks. The new cloud infrastructure will make good use of both private cloud which manages sensitive data and public cloud which provides better scalability and functionalities. A central cloud management system will ensure inter-operability between the private cloud and public cloud. The big data analytics platform will run on the new government cloud.

Through resource sharing, we aim to implement more big data analytics and AI/machine learning projects based on real time city data, including weather, transport and environment, etc. which are very relevant to citizen’s daily lives. Our goals are to expedite system development for e-government services, improve service level, and enhance operation efficiency and cyber security.

We have just obtained HK$650M funding support from the Legislative Council last Friday and plan to launch the new cloud services by 2020.

While smart city development will benefit citizens, it offers business opportunities to commercial sectors that can provide innovative solutions. Today’s event is a good opportunity for us to keep abreast of the latest technology trends which may give us ideas on how to make our city even smarter.

I wish the Expo every success and everyone a fruitful and enjoyable experience. Thank you!

- ENDS -