LEAP East Opens in Hong Kong Drawing Cross-Border Tech Investment
The inaugural LEAP East conference opened today in Hong Kong, should drawing more than 25,000 attendees over a three-day programme that brings together speakers, exhibitors, startups, and investors from across the region. The event is organized by Tahaluf, a Riyadh-headquartered joint venture between Informa Group, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity and Programming, and the Entertainment Investment Fund.
The conference features 340 speakers, 450 exhibitors, 300 startups, and 600 investors whose collective assets under management exceed US$6.5 trillion. Topics on the agenda include artificial intelligence, cross-border investment, digital innovation, and technology collaboration between markets.
Opening ceremony
The opening keynote was delivered by Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, alongside Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Professor Sun Dong, and Tahaluf Co-Chairman of the Board Faisal Bin Saud Al Khamisi.
Paul Chan described Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia as “important hubs in their respective regions,” underscoring the economic ties the conference aims to deepen. Sun Dong said Hong Kong’s position allows it to act as a “super connector” and “super value-adder” between technology ecosystems.
Scale and ambition
Tahaluf CEO Mike Champion noted that the event’s scale is more than five times that of a typical new trade show in Hong Kong. The exhibition floor includes booths from Hong Kong’s Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, Hong Kong Science Park, Cyberport, the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Aramco Digital, Elm, and Saudi Exports.
Regional context
The event comes at a time when Asia’s technology economy is valued at US$34 trillion, accounting for roughly one-third of the global economy and holding 82% of the world’s AI patents. Hong Kong has ramped up its tech funding in recent years, launching three programmes each backed by HK$10 billion (a combined total exceeding US$3.8 billion). The number of startups in the city has grown by nearly 40% since 2021, surpassing 5,200 by early 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative continues to drive technology development, digital transformation, and the growth of emerging industries across the kingdom.
LEAP East runs for three days in Hong Kong.
