Friday Beyond Spotlights – Anthony Lu: Investing in FoodTech and Food Security

Friday Beyond Spotlights, an informative yet light-hearted talk show airing tonight on the Hong Kong International Business Channel (#76), is where prominent guests share their insights into current affairs, business, innovation and culture, as well as their ingenuity, passion and grit which forge their Lion Rock Spirit. The program is hosted by businessman and philanthropist Patrick Tsang On-yip, lawyer and lawmaker Nick Chan Hiu-fung, and seasoned business maverick Herman Hu Shao-ming.

Hosted by Nick Chan, episode 10 of Season 2 presents Anthony Lu, the Director of the China Resources Research Institute of Science and Technology under the China Resource Group. Lu says Hong Kong is a mecca for the global dining industry and a food ingredients trading centre. As the fusion hub of global culinary delights since 1970, the city has attracted a large number of talents in culinary industry from around the world who brought in food ingredients as well. Hong Kong has also played a key role in introducing premium foods and ingredients to the Mainland.


Lu says the last two decades witnessed a modernisation of agriculture, with a lot of new technologies being adopted in the farming, supply chain and logistics. New technology has also been applied on the growing transportation and logistics of the food, and how to deliver and process the food to the table of every consumer.

The strategy of the China Resources Research Institute of Science and Technology is to commercialise some new tech in Hong Kong and to connect it to the market, says Lu. “We are looking into new sectors of business development because after the big data and the artificial intelligence, we are trying to connect artificial intelligence with manufacturing, with the service sector and even having this ongoing mechanical robotic science.”
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In the program, Lu shares with audiences a pair of laboratory tweezers that has a special significance in shaping him into who he is today, forging him with that Lion Rock Spirit. “These tweezers are my friends and teammates, and saw me through my academic years to finish my PhD degree. It was the first thing I got in the laboratories given by my supervisor when I joined Manchester University as an MPhil student, that was my first time engaging in a real-world scientific research.”

The tweezers have accompanied Yu through all the successes and failures during his nanotechnology studies and researches at the university, including his final PhD project, a breakthrough on ultra-high frequency detection devices which was achieved despite some unexpected incidents happening before and during the experiment. Although this project was nearly spoilt by a mistake made by a postgraduate student who helped him complete some steps, Lu stresses the importance of trusting other people, especially the young people. “At the end of the day, you have to trust other people and you have to cultivate and work with other people and having room for them to make mistakes, so that they can be part of your team and really get the things right in the future.”

To find out more, watch Season 2, Episode 10 of Friday Beyond Spotlights tonight at 8:30pm on the HKIBC channel (#76).

Watch the trailer of Episode 10 on https://youtu.be/b0LtWdS1yRo
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