Rise, an annual tech conference whose recent speakers have included executives from Uber (UBER), Alibaba (BABA) and Stripe, said Thursday that it would return to the city next year, with plans to stay for the next five years.
Organizers had announced in late 2020 that they would move the event to the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur, saying they wanted to seek opportunities in Southeast Asia’s fast-growing tech scene.
At the time, the move raised questions about Hong Kong’s ability to hold onto its image as Asia’s premier global business hub as it was still grappling with the aftermath of mass protests in 2019. Conference leaders insisted then that the political turmoil was not part of the decision.
Now, “Hong Kong has once again won as the host city of Rise for the coming five years,” the event’s organizers said in a joint statement Thursday with the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
The event next March will be staged in-person. Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward…