Press Release
For Immediate Release
Hong Kong, 26th February 2021

“Hong Kong Licensing Awards 2020 cum
Asian Licensing Awards 2020 Online Awards Presentation Ceremony” ~ Recognising remarkable practitioners
and fostering the development of local creative industries

Today, 26th February 2021, the Asian Licensing Association (ALA) is delighted to host the joint online Presentation Ceremony for its Hong Kong Licensing Awards (HKLA 2020) and Asian Licensing Awards (ALA 2020). We are honoured to welcome Dr. Bernard Chan, JP, Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as our Guest of Honour.

As a grand annual event since 2015, the joint Award Presentation Ceremony recognises the outstanding achievements of practitioners in the licensing and creative industries over the past year, encouraging and nurturing further development in both Hong Kong and Asia as a whole. Dr. Bernard Chan will congratulate 20 winners of both HKLA 2020 and Asian Licensing Awards 2020.

This is the sixth occasion of the HKLA, the one and only award scheme dedicated to the creative licensing industry, and is sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the HKSAR Government.

HKLA provides an unique platform for international licensors, licensees, agents and manufacturers to get together and share industry insights, further facilitating the growth of local creative sectors. It enables the expansion of business networks and enhances market exposure. As a result the local market has witnessed strong growth in both licensing and creative industries, ever broadening in scale and scope of operation.

The global licensing industry has been booming in recent years, with the markets for licensed merchandise in Hong Kong, the Mainland and across Asia seeing especially strong growth. Through the robust collaboration between the trade and local government, the Hong Kong creative industry in particular, is blossoming internationally. It benefits from a number of competitive advantages including a comprehensive legal system on the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights, a solid reputation for respecting contracts, advanced distribution networks, etc. Such advantages have acted as a magnet, attracting increasing numbers of quality licensing professionals and famous properties to develop their business in our city.

Despite, or perhaps due to, the measures taken to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the E-commerce market has grown rapidly amid today’s general global economic downturn, resulting in tremendous business opportunities in the licensing and creative industries.

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 Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

In spite of the pandemic, the HKLA 2020 is encouraged to have received more than 100 applications for the awards in the five award categories, namely the Best Hong Kong Property Award, the Best Licensee Award, the Best Promotion Campaign Award, the Best Hong Kong Young Property Award and the Best Hong Kong New Character Design for Licensing Award. The Gold Award winners are listed below (please refer to Annex 1 for the full list):

The ALA is delighted by the overwhelming response, and the high quality of the awardees. It is also pleased with the result of the training programs offered under the project, nurturing the talent of local designers, new IP holders and other stakeholders in the licensing industry. On this occasion, the two training programs — design of a style guide and sales pitching techniques for licensing—-were commenced online on 1sh August and 10th October 2020 respectively. Happily, due to the excellent results of previous programs, even more experienced practitioners were invited as instructors this year. And the record number of trainees is also encouraged and shows the significance and value of these training programs.

The online Presentation Ceremony of the Asian Licensing Awards 2020, recognising the exceptional achievements of licensing practitioners throughout Asia, also comprises five award categories, namely the Best Promotion Campaign, the Best Property in Asia, the Best Licensee, the Best Young Property and the Best Asian Property (please refer to Annex 2 for the full list of awardees).

Except for the Best Hong Kong New Character Design for Licensing Award, the winners of the Gold Award are nominated to compete for the Asian Licensing Awards 2020.

For further information on the Hong Kong Licensing Awards 2020 and the Asian Licensing Awards 2020, please visit：www.hklicensingawards.hk 。 

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 Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

About Hong Kong Licensing Awards

Best Promotion Campaign Award (Note 1)

Best Hong Kong Young Property Award (Note 2)

Best Hong Kong New Character Design for Licensing Award

Best Asian Property Award

Best Young Property in Asia Award

Best Property in Asia Award

Best Promotion Campaign Award

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 Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

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