Hong Kong, July 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dedicating in locating potential investment opportunities in Asia, First Asia Group has principal activities in the finance and property sectors and its connected companies have operations in the catering industry, advertising business and game developing enterprise.

According to report from the market research company SuperData, the total revenue of global Esports market reached 893 million USD in 2016 of which 328 million USD was from the Asia market.  The number of audience has grown from 188 million to 214 million, revealing the potential and growth rate.  First Asia Group intends to establish diversified Esports business through multiform business operations, including advertising and media production as well as game development, together with the acquisition of the Hong Kong Esports Training Centre (HKETC).  It is believed that First Asia Group will be able to create a complete Esports eco-system. 

First Asia Group will provide financial support and hardware to HKETC by building an Asia Esports incubator at First Asia Tower.  HKETC focuses on providing education and vocational job training for employment opportunities related to the Esports industry while First Asia Group will organize various Esports events with a view to search for highly potential talents as well as to create opportunities for students to apply what they have learnt from classroom and to gain practical experience.  Meanwhile, HKETC will also introduce excellent education and training programs for Esports so that graduates could meet international standard and reach out to other well-developed Asia markets.  Through its affiliated businesses in vocational Esports training, advertising and gaming businesses, First Asia Group hopes to further study the behavior of pro-gamers and the pros and cons of the current Esports games for developing a customized Esports game.

Many cultures in Asia place a high value on academic qualification and HKETC provides higher national diplomas in business and creative media with international accreditation to students.  Professional knowledge and academic qualification protection are conducive to enhancing students’ competitiveness.   

It is a well-known fact that education system in Hong Kong is often in line with international mainstream levels.  Coupled with the advantage of being backed by a giant market in China as well as the professional services in connecting other markets in Asia like Taiwan and Korea, Hong Kong is well-suited to be a competitive city for Esports.  First Asia Group is convinced that by making optimal use of the excellent business environment and comprehensive education system, we could develop an Asia Esports Hub in the future.

Hong Kong Esports Training Centre (HKETC): 

https://esports.edu.hk/

HKETC 2017 Introduction Video: 

https://esports.edu.hk/2017/07/07/hketc-2017-introduction-video/

"The Pearl Report" - E-Sport's Eras:  

https://esports.edu.hk/2017/07/07/the-pearl-report-e-sports/

Renowned Esports Key Opinion Leader and World Class Player Exchange Day: 

https://esports.edu.hk/2017/07/07/renowned-esports-key-opinion-leader-and-world-class-player-exchange-day-%E7%9F%A5%E5%90%8Desports-kol-%E5%8F%8A%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E7%B4%9A%E9%81%B8%E6%89%8B%E4%BA%A4%E6%B5%81%E6%97%A5/

Message from HKETC Directors: 

https://esports.edu.hk/2017/07/06/director-messages-%E7%B8%BD%E7%9B%A3%E7%9A%84%E8%A9%B1/

Esports Market Review

2016 SuperData Research：https://www.superdataresearch.com/market-data/esports-market-brief/

2017 Global Esports Market Report： http://bit.ly/2tqFQn2

Esports Development in Hong Kong 

[Game Development] 

Bien, Perez. "Football app start-up Ballr on the hunt for Hong Kong investors, as China set to be its key market." South China Morning Post. July 2017. http://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-gaming/article/2100930/football-app-start-ballr-hunt-hk-investors-china-set-be-its-key

[Esports Development] 

Yeung, Raymond. "League of Legends tournament sees Hong Kong join the global game – with billions up for grabs." South China Morning Post. April 5, 2017. http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2084454/hong-kong-lured-table-global-game-billions-grabs

[Government Support] 

Tsang, Denise, and Nikki Sun. "Hong Kong Tourism Board eyes eGames amid slump in visitor numbers." South China Morning Post. February 8, 2017. http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2069125/hong-kong-tourism-board-looks-e-sports-shenzhen-visa

[Esports Development] 

"Chow pointed out that Hong Kong's "East meets West" trade show location is an ideal esports hub for gamers and advertisers, leading to monetisation opportunities in the video games segment."

Kang, Soon Chen. "Mobile ads to overtake wired-internet ads by 2019 in China: PwC" Campaign Asia. June 13, 2017. http://www.campaignasia.com/article/mobile-ads-to-overtake-wired-internet-ads-by-2019-in-china-pwc/437192 

Pan Yue. "Li Ka-Shing Supported Hardware Developer Razer Inc Plans Hong Kong IPO" July 3 , 2017. https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/2017/07/03/li-ka-shing-supported-hardware-developer-razer-inc-plans-hong-kong-ipo

Esports Development in Asia

[Game Development]

Parfitt, Ben "China extends its lead as world's largest video games market." MCV. June 2017.  http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/china-extends-its-lead-as-world-s-largest-video-games-market/0184159

[Esports Development] 

Porteous , James. "E-sports are heading to the Asian Games and probably Olympics – but cashing in on the revolution might be more difficult than it appears." South China Morning Post. June  2017. http://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2091719/e-sports-are-heading-asian-games-and-probably-olympics-cashing

[Esports Development] 

SPANGLER, TODD. "Cinedigm Sells Majority Ownership Stake to Hong Kong’s Bison Capital in $40 Million Deal." Variety Media. June 19, 2017. http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/cinedigm-bison-capital-majority-ownership-investment-1202482934/

For Chinese version of the announcement, please refer to: http://www.firstasiaholdings.com/pdf/esports.pdf