Hong Kong Mobile Apps Industry Survey 2017 Reveals an Increase in AR and NFC Apps Developed in Hong Kong as part of The Latest Industry Trends

HONG KONG, June 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --  Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA), a non-profit trade association dedicated to the wireless and mobile industry, announced the results of the Hong Kong Mobile Apps Industry Survey 2017 and the nine finalists for the three award categories of the Asia Smart App Awards 2017 at a press conference held today at the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC).

The Survey is part of the project, Asia Smart App Awards 2017, sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. HKPC was commissioned to conduct the survey this year.

Conducted for the fourth year, the annual Survey sets out to be a comprehensive study offering valuable insights into the current smartphone app industry in Asia and the potential of the Hong Kong market. The recent survey was completed by 124 mobile app development companies in Hong Kong and across Asia via online questionnaires, phone interviews, and face-to-face interviews between 8 May and 5 June this year.

The findings reveal that the local mobile app industry is getting mature as the number of companies operating for six or more years has drastically increased from 22% last year to 50% this year. Startups have also become considerably more well-established with an increase in founders aged 25 and above (23%) and in founders with five or more years of work experience (13%).

The three of the most interesting insights the survey revealed by the survey are as follows:

• Business applications (57%) tops the most popular app products this year followed by e-commerce applications (26%). Over four-fifths (82%) of the respondents allocated resources to R&D and product development in the previous year, with the average amount at HK$2,135,000. Furthermore, the number of apps featuring augmented reality (AR) and near-field communication (NFC) technologies have increased 13% and 11% in 2017 respectively. The increase may be caused by the global success of the popular AR game "Pokemon Go" and the introduction of NFC e-payment services in Hong Kong that inspire more local companies to engage in the development of relevant apps.
• With regards to costs, the vast majority of companies (80%) experienced an increase in operational costs over the last year due to high staff costs (86%) and office rental (55%). Despite the increasing costs , the number of respondents with an annual revenue of HK$500,000 grew by 28%. At the same time, the number of companies in deficit reduced by 14%. These figures suggest a better business environment and prospects for a growing in the smartphone app industry.
• In terms of talent supply, over 33% of respondents indicated that they have experienced a serious shortage of manpower in the past year with technical staff positions (40%) and sales staff positions (11%) being the most difficult to fill. The talent shortage is the main reason 40% of the respondents to turn down business deals. To combat this and the increased operational costs, nearly half of the respondents (42%) have out-sourced services to domestic specialist companies (69%) and those in Mainland (25%) or other regions (21%).

"Hong Kong is a world leader in mobile subscription and smartphone penetration. The survey results show  an insightful pointer for local companies in the fast-changing smart app industry to remain competitive in their businesses and to stay on top of the constant changes and challenges in the technology sector," says Wendy Alison Yung, Executive Director of WTIA.

Following the survey results, Wendy Alison Yung also announced the nine finalists of this year's Asia Smart App Awards. Organized annually since 2012 by WTIA, the Asia Smart App Awards rewards innovative smart app developers and provides a platform for top smart app professionals in the region to meet, share, collaborate and learn from each other. The nine finalists are from Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Israel, and Indonesia and across three categories – Business and Productivity, Game and Entertainment, and Lifestyle and Social. Industry experts from Hong Kong and eleven other Asian countries – including Prisda Hiranaburna of Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency and Robert Antuangco of TechCellar Business Solutions from the Philippines – and judged this year's awards.

The entries ranged from a game for students that incorporates Artificial Intelligence and augmented reality to an app that increases the mobility of the visually impaired by helping people navigate using GPS. Entries were judged based on six criteria - innovation and creativity, functionality and design, user experience, technical deployment of smartphone technologies, market performance and competitiveness, and social responsibility.

The winners will be announced at the Asia Smart App Summit cum Awards Presentation Ceremony on 29 June in Cyberport. The summit, which will be held on the same day, is open to public and has free admission. For more information and to register for the summit, please visit http://contest2017.bestasiaapp.hk/.

For the editor:

About Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association

Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA), established in 2001, is a not-for profit, politically-neutral trade association dedicated to the wireless and mobile industry.  The Association acts as a platform, an aggregator, and community for industry professionals to learn and drive emerging wireless and mobile technologies, governance, and standards.  It facilitates networking between like-minded professionals, boost interoperability between networks and devices, and strives to help all organizations apply these technologies to existing or new businesses.  WTIA also represents and is supported by digital industries pertaining to mobile such as digital entertainment, digital marketing & media, and start-up sectors. To know more about WTIA, please visit www.hkwtia.org.

About Create Hong Kong

Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is a dedicated office set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to spearhead the development of Hong Kong's creative industries.  Set up in June 2009, CreateHK co-ordinates the Government policy regarding creative industries, focuses Government's resources catering for the promotion and speeding up of the development of creative industries in Hong Kong, and works closely with the trade to boost the development of creative industries. CreateHK sponsors the Asia Smartphone Apps Contest since its inception in 2012.

Disclaimer: Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organizers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Communications and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

Survey results, finalists' bios, and hi-res images download link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ivan1v8dj2oygfc/AACnjYSA-UdERBjDNS8oi1sia?dl=0