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Malaysia has lost the opportunity to host the RISE tech conference, in a blow to its embattled economy as it becomes Southeast Asia’s new coronavirus hotspot.
Organisers of the event on Thursday said plans to move the 2022 conference to Kuala Lumpur would be cancelled.
“We always intended to come back to Hong Kong at some stage,” said Paddy Cosgrave, chief executive of the annual conference, which is scheduled to take place in-person next March.
Hong Kong officials said RISE – brings together CEOs, start-ups and investors – would be hosted by the city until 2026. The event has been held in Hong Kong five times.
Organisers said last year they would move the Asia-focused conference to Kuala Lumpur in 2022, as tech firms fretted over Beijing’s increasing control of Hong Kong.

The reversal comes as Malaysia faces a Covid-19 and economic crisis that saw a change of government recently.
New cases in Malaysia have soared despite containment measures, hitting a record 24,599 in one day late last month and turning the country into Southeast Asia’s Covid-19 hotspot.
The ministry on Thursday reported almost 21,000 new cases, even as the country of 33 million people had reached a full vaccination rate of more than 65 per cent of adults.
The health ministry reported 249 virus-linked casualties on Thursday, taking the total death toll to more than 17,000. The national caseload stood at 1.78 million.
Malaysian PM’s new cabinet ‘old wine in new bottle’, critics say
The Southeast Asian country, usually a tourism magnet, has also kept its borders shut to travellers since March 2020, even keeping out returning nationals for a time. The measure saw the number of foreign workers plummet.
The government said recently that moving forward, it aimed to base restrictions on the numbers of people who were ill or hospitalised after contracting the virus.
Health Ministry Director General Noor Hisham Abdullah said on Thursday that hospital intensive care units were 90 per cent full. He added that around 98 per cent of new cases were showing either mild symptoms of illness or none at all.

In an attempt to drive up testing numbers to bring about a reopening of the country's economy as the virus becomes “endemic”, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Thursday that rapid antigen kits would be made more widely available by using “bulk purchases” to push prices down.
Virus curbs have reduced output in Malaysia’s electronics and computer factories and led in turn to chip shortages as far afield as Germany, where Volkswagen and Ford have recently warned of related car production shortages.
Malaysia’s pandemic woes and economic issues are among the challenges faced by new Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who announced his cabinet last week. He also takes office at a time of domestic political feuding.
Additional reporting by AFP, Bloomberg


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Coronavirus pandemic

Malaysia loses opportunity to host RISE tech conference amid coronavirus woes

A man walks near the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Reuters

Exhibitors attend the RISE tech conference 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. 09JUL19 SCMP / K. Y. Cheng

(210729) -- KUALA LUMPUR, July 29, 2021 (Xinhua) -- A medical worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 29, 2021. Malaysia reported 17,170 new COVID-19 infections, the health ministry said on Thursday, bringing the national total to 1,078,646. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

RISE brings together CEOs, start-ups and investors. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Asia tech conference RISE ditches Hong Kong for Malaysia

‘Sophia the Robot’ is seen on stage before a discussion by Hanson Robotics about artificial intelligence at the RISE Conference in Hong Kong on July 10, 2018. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Technology conference Rise Hong Kong 2018 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. 10JUL18 SCMP/ K. Y. Cheng

‘Han the Robot’ waits on stage before a discussion about the future of humanity and artificial intelligence by Hanson Robotics at the RISE Conference in Hong Kong on July 12, 2017. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Hong Kong protests prompt organiser to scrap RISE Conference in 2020 as unrest clouds longer term planning

Exhibitors attending the RISE Conference in 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Malaysian PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob returns Muhyiddin loyalists to key roles, sparking criticism

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Photo: Bernama/dpa

Hamzah Zainuddin, member of the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu). Photo: Facebook

Portrait of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, 42, with the Party's logo, at UMNO building in Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 01JUN18 SCMP / Nora Tam

U.S. Secretary of Defence Ash Carter meets with Malaysia's Minister of Defence Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein for a bilateral meeting at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore June 4, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su

Coronavirus: Asia’s economic recovery losing momentum as Delta variant knocks wind out growth

Delta outbreaks in Southeast Asia have caused supply chain headaches for many of the world’s largest manufacturers, many of which rely on car parts and semiconductors made in low-cost bases such as Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker by sales volume, said last week it would cut September production by 40 per cent from its previous plan due to the chip crunch, though it retained production and sales targets for its financial year. Photo: AP

News

Asia

Southeast Asia


The next edition of RISE is scheduled to be an in-person event in Hong Kong in March 2022
Organisers said last year they would move the conference to Kuala Lumpur, as tech firms fretted over China’s increasing control of Hong Kong



The next edition of RISE is scheduled to be an in-person event in March 2022.


Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Coronavirus Malaysia

Malaysia

Malaysia loses opportunity to host RISE tech conference amid coronavirus woes

The next edition of RISE is scheduled to be an in-person event in Hong Kong in March 2022 Organisers said last year they would move the conference to Kuala Lumpur, as tech firms fretted over China’s increasing control of Hong Kong

The next edition of RISE is scheduled to be an in-person event in Hong Kong in March 2022

Organisers said last year they would move the conference to Kuala Lumpur, as tech firms fretted over China’s increasing control of Hong Kong