Discussing Israel’s Tech Success
Amir Lati, recently appointed Consul General of the State of Israel in Hong Kong and Macao, paid a courtesy visit to the Chamber on 12 January. He was welcomed by the Chamber’s CEO George Leung, Europe Committee Chairman Davide de Rosa and PR & Programs Director Malcolm Ainsworth.
They discussed the latest Covid-19 impacts on business communities in both regions including the current travel restrictions. Lati said that Israel was known as a start-up nation, and was now rapidly transforming into a scale-up nation following a very fruitful 2021 for the technology sector. He explained that the country’s tech industry had attracted an unprecedented US$26 billion in capital, and that the sectors that had attracted the most investment were IT including fintech, cyber security, data protection, cloud computing and healthcare.
While attracting capital was not a problem, Lati said that the Israeli tech industry was suffering from a shortage of skilled IT workers. However, the country is taking action to address this shortfall and aims to increase the proportion of IT professionals from 10% to 15% of the workforce in the coming five years.
During the discussion, both sides shared their optimism about future collaboration opportunities, particularly the potential for Israeli business in the Greater Bay Area. Lati also said he looked forward to bringing Chamber members to Israel to foster business ties once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
2022/01/12