GF Securities Fully Support the Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Hong Kong Youths Sponsored HKUST Entrepreneurship Competition for 5 Years

GF Securities Fully Support the Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Hong Kong Youths

Sponsored HKUST Entrepreneurship Competition for 5 Years

(6 August 2021, Hong Kong) The HKUST-Sino One-Million-Dollar Entrepreneurship 2021 sponsored by GF Securities Co., Ltd. ("GF Securities", stock code: 1776.HK; 000776.SZ) for 5 consecutive years was successfully held recently. After fierce competition, the winner of the competition was granted to The Able Company, which collects surplus and unused bread from Hong Kong bakeries and restaurants and turns them into local craft beer, and the "GF Innovation Award" sponsored by GF Securities was granted to Solid-X Limited, which focuses on the development of next-generation solid-state batteries.

Mr. Shen Minggao, the General Manager of GF Holdings (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., a Hong Kong subsidiary of GF Securities, said, "This is the fifth year that GF Securities has participated in the competition. As a global investment bank rooted in the Greater Bay Area, GF Securities is committed to making full use of domestic and overseas capital markets to provide assistance to outstanding companies at different stages of development, we will also continue to fully support outstanding entrepreneurs, promote the development of start-ups, and help more young people realize their ideas and ambitions on the road to entrepreneurship. ".  Mr. Shen also said, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has initiated about 30 sustainability-related projects which is believed that universities can become a laboratory for exploration and sustainable development. It is gratified to see that the school also wants to cultivate students' ability to deal with the challenges of the 21st century. The shift from traditional education to active experience teaching allows students to acquire skills to deal with the difficulties and challenges in their careers.

HKUST-Sino One-Million-Dollar Millions Entrepreneurship 2021 was established in 2011 and has been held for 11 sessions. As the platinum sponsor of the competition for 5 consecutive years, GF Securities fully supports innovation and entrepreneurship of youths, and has established the "GF Innovation Award" for 3 consecutive years to encourage and commend outstanding entrepreneurial teams in the field of innovation. The competition has expanded from a single-region match in Hong Kong to other regions in China since 2016, and has become a well-known entrepreneurial competition in Greater China. The competition regions of this year also include Macau, Beijing, Foshan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the Yangtze River Delta. The top 3 teams from Hong Kong will compete with the winning teams from the other 6 regions for the exclusive million-dollar championship.

This competition was mainly held online in four rounds, attracting a total of 185 participating teams, the entrepreneurship plans focused on hotly discussed topics such as waste reduction, smart technology, and financial technology. The winner of the "GF Innovation Award" of the competition is Solid-X Limited. The team focuses on the development of next generation solid-state batteries and aims to provide a safe, reliable and sustainable energy storage solution for business and society, outerperformed other teams in the fierce competition. The team of Solid-X Limited expressed that they are very happy to receive the award and hope that the battery can be launched on the market as soon as possible.

As a sponsor of the competition for many years, GF Securities participated in the entire competition and provided support beyond funding. For this competition, Mr. Zhou Hang, Vice President of the Private Equity division of GF Investment (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., participated as an adjudicator in the final, providing professional advice and guidance to the participating teams. Mr. Zhou said, "It is a great honor to represent GF Securities as an adjudicator of the competition. As a company that focuses on equity investment in domestic and overseas SME and is committed to assisting enterprises in rapid growth through capital and management, GF Investment (Hong Kong) has always concerned about outstanding start-ups in various fields. This year's competition has been very intense which gathered many excellent entrepreneurial teams, fully felt the enthusiasm of entrepreneurship of Hong Kong youths and reflected that Hong Kong is a place full of entrepreneurial opportunities.".

As one of the most influential securities companies in China's capital market, GF Securities has always exerted its influence and devoted itself to committing to charity with actual deeds. In China, GF Securities has also carried out the campaign of "Micro-entrepreneurs in Universities" for 7 consecutive years through "GF Securities Social Charity Foundation", and it attracted the participation of the "Shanghai Stock Exchange Charity Foundation" this year. In the past 6 years, GF Securities has already donated RMB5.5 million in the support funds for 300 projects through the campaign. There are currently more than 200 micro-entrepreneurship tutors and nearly 40 high schools, including Peking University and Tsinghua University, have profoundly participated in the campaign, impacting tens of millions of people through various online and on-site activities. This campaign aims to increase support for the scientific and technological innovation achievements of youths, encourage more young students to actively participate in innovative and entrepreneurial projects, and promote the integrated development of industry and university. In the future, GF Securities will always adhere to its community motto of "Gathering love and giving from the heart", actively fulfil its social responsibilities, and fully to promote the vigorous development of entrepreneurship of domestic and foreign youths.

- END -

 
About GF Securities Co. Ltd

Established in 1991, GF Securities Co., Ltd. is one of the first, full-service securities firms in China. The Company was successfully listed on the main boards of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (Stock code: 000776.SZ), and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock code: 1776.HK), in 2010 and 2015, respectively. Relying on excellent business performance, continuously improved risk management and quality services, the company achieves sustained and steady development, and is one of the most influential securities companies in China. The Company possesses industry-leading innovation capabilities and has built a diversified business portfolio serving various corporations, individuals, institutional investors, financial institutions and government clients. As of December 31, 2020, the Company operated 282 brokerage branches, covering 31 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions throughout China. For six consecutive years from 2015 to 2020, GF Securities ranked in the forefront of "Hurun's Top Brands List" amongst listed Chinese securities companies. The Company is actively committed to social responsibility and caring, focusing on education and poverty alleviation through "GF Securities Social Charity Foundation", and as a result has enjoyed a continuously growing reputation and an influential brand.