As he scoured Europe to find parts last year, German entrepreneur Florian Simmendinger was able only to locate a handful of motors small enough for the wearable, smartphone-controlled metronome he was building to help musicians keep the beat — and even they were too weak.去年游历欧洲找寻元件时,德国企业家弗洛里安缠绕馉丁格(Florian Simmendinger)不能寻找为数不多的几款充足小的马达,可以取出他为协助音乐家维持节奏而打造出的、用智能手机掌控的可穿着式节拍器中——而且这些马达的振动效果过强了。But a move to Hong Kong in November jump-started the development of his product, as he was soon able to find everything he needed in the sprawling Chinese manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, just across the border.但是,去年11月的一次香港之行却使他需要开始一款产品的研发,因为在地处香港对面、大大扩展的中国内地制造业中心深圳,他迅速找到了他所须要的一切元件。“In Shenzhen, they sell every motor that has ever gone into a consumer product and I was able to get the one I needed, which is 600 per cent stronger than a mobile phone,” he says as he shows off his $99 Soundbrenner Pulse, which looks like a watch and emits vibrations rather than an intrusive tick-tock sound.“在深圳,他们销售用在消费品上的所有类型的马达,而我能寻找我所必须的那一款,比手机的震动强劲6倍,”他在展出其售价99美元的Soundbrenner Pulse节拍器时回应。这款节拍器看上去像一块手表,只不过它收到的是震动,而不是滴答滴答的无聊声音。
Mr Simmendinger is one of a growing number of international entrepreneurs moving to Hong Kong to set up businesses focused on the so-called internet of things (IoT), developing products that use the latest digital technology to enhance everyday items from headphones to electricity meters.就像西蒙丁格一样,更加多的国际企业家回到香港创立公司,专心于所谓的“物联网”(IoT)领域,研发可利用近期数字技术的产品,以提高从头戴式耳机到电表等各种日常用品的功能。They are attracted by Hong Kong’s unique position, on the doorstep of a vast market and manufacturing base in China but benefiting from a British-influenced legal system, straight-forward regulations and low tax.他们被香港独有的条件所更有,这里是通向中国内地这个可观市场和制造业基地的门户,却享有受到英国影响的法律体系、具体的法规以及较低的税率等优势。
Cities and nations are racing to emulate the success of Silicon Valley and Hong Kong is particularly keen to promote its credentials as a tech hub because the economy is under pressure as tourism and luxury retail have been hit by a drop in Chinese visitors caused by a corruption crackdown in China and rising political tensions with Beijing.很多城市和国家都在竞相效仿硅谷,而香港在经济面对压力的背景下,十分热衷提高自身作为科技中心的声誉。由于中国内地的反腐败运动以及香港与北京日益加剧的政治紧绷气氛使得内地到港游客增加,香港的旅游业和奢侈品零售受到了压制。“The government knows that we can’t continue to rely on financial services, retail and tourism,” says Allen Ma, chief executive of Hong Kong Science Park, one of two slick campuses built by the government to promote the technology industry in the early 2000s.“政府明白,我们无法再继续依赖金融服务业、以及旅游业了,”香港科技园(Hong Kong Science Park)的行政总裁马锦星(Allen Ma)称之为。
该科技园是香港政府在本世纪头十年初期,为增进科技产业发展而建设的两个园区之一。While the Science Park and its counterpart Cyberport have been in operation for more than a decade, Hong Kong’s tech industry struggled to grow because of a lack of experienced venture capitalists, the small size of the domestic market (only 7m people) and a risk-averse business culture.尽管科技园与数码港(Cyberport)早已运营了十余年,但是由于缺少有经验的风险投资家、本土市场较小(仅有700万人口)以及不爱人冒险的企业文化,香港的科技业一度发展艰苦。But investors say that has started to change in the past year or two as entrepreneurs have realised that Hong Kong is well placed to capitalise on two fast-growing global sectors: the IoT and financial technology.但是投资者称之为,将近一两年来,随着企业家渐渐找到香港在利用全球两大较慢发展领域——物联网和金融技术——方面具备得天独厚的条件,情况早已开始再次发生转变。
David Lynch, head of technology for DBS in China and Hong Kong, says Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s leading financial centres makes it an ideal location for start-ups focused on banking technology in Asia and beyond.新加坡星展银行(DBS)中国内地与香港科技总监林大卫(David Lynch)称之为,香港作为世界主要金融中心之一的地位,使之沦为创立面向亚洲及其他地区、专心于金融技术的企业的理想地点。“Banking as we know it is being unbundled, and unless we participate actively in this ecosystem, there is a real chance that ourselves and other banks will be left behind,” he says.他说道:“众所周知,银行业正在细分,除非我们积极参与到这个生态系统中,否则我们和其他银行很有可能会被扯在后面。”When it comes to financial technology, Hong Kong start-ups are going head-to-head with rivals in other banking centres such as Singapore and London. But David Chen, who runs an investment group called AngelVest, says Hong Kong has a big competitive advantage in developing IoT technology.在金融技术领域,香港初创企业正在与新加坡和伦敦等其他金融中心的竞争对手进行正面交锋。但是投资集团天使谷(AngelVest)的牵头创始人陈泰杰(David Chen)称之为,香港在发展物联网技术方面具备相当大的竞争优势。
“For IoT, we see Hong Kong as much more advantageous than other places like Singapore because of its proximity to Shenzhen and the ease with which you can rapidly develop prototypes,” says Mr Chen.“对于物联网,我们指出香港比新加坡等其他地区不利得多,因为其坐落深圳,并不具备你可以较慢研发原型的便捷条件,”陈泰杰称之为。Shenzhen has a thriving start-up scene of its own but Isaac Mao, a Chinese entrepreneur, says Hong Kong is better suited to smaller companies that want to expand internationally.深圳本身就呈现一派欣欣向荣的创业景象,但是中国创业者毛向辉(Isaac Mao)称之为,香港更加合适期望在国际上发展的较小型公司。
“It’s much easier to start a business in Hong Kong, the intellectual property protection is much better and there are no internet restrictions as there are in the mainland.” “与内地比起,在香港创立公司要非常简单得多,知识产权维护也好得多,并且没像内地那样的互联网容许。
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