US firm opens in Hong Kong's IT flagship (hktdc.com)


	(From left) Chief Executive Officer of Kopin Corporation, Dr John Fan, InvestHK's Ophelia Tsang and General Manager of Kopin (HK) Limited Kenny Chow at a product demonstration

US-based leader in micro displays for consumer and military applications, Kopin Corporation, opened its Hong Kong subsidiary at the Hong Kong Science Park.

Established in 1984 in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) research labs, Kopin developed its patented Wafer-Engineering™ technology in which nanotechnology is applied to semiconductor materials.

The new Hong Kong office, Kopin (HK), will provide technical assistance to video eyewear manufacturers in the Asia region and will serve as an application development centre for video eyewear.

"Located next to the Pearl River Delta manufacturing base, Hong Kong allows us to work closely with our customers in China while innovative solutions for intellectual property development can be created in a good environment like the Hong Kong Science Park," said Dr. John C.C. Fan, Kopin's President and CEO.

"An array of companies located in the Park with complementary expertise related to our display technology can offer display driver electronics, backlight, image enlarging optics, digital wireless transmission, video CODEC and display analysis equipment. I believe this cluster of technology partners will dramatically speed up our application development work."

Beijing Olympics a big booster

An important mission for Kopin (HK) is to develop, in collaboration with technology companies and customers, next-generation mobile video technologies that augment Kopin's Digital iVision™ technology.

"The mobile video market in China will see a big boost in the next two years, because mobile TV broadcasting will start before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games," said Kenny Chow, General Manager of Kopin (HK). "This driving force makes many companies enthusiastic about our offering of Binocular Display Module (BDM) products, which enable them to create a mobile TV receiver with eyewear as a portable set. People will be able to enjoy live Olympic events anywhere with big-screen pictures. Kopin (HK) will allow us to capitalise on this and other business opportunities."

The Vice President, Marketing and Admission of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Dr John Lo, welcomed the addition of Kopin to the Park. He said, "A key attraction for Kopin to set up their operation in Hong Kong Science Park was the unique clusters of technology industry players here. The clusters naturally become technology partners of each other, as Kopin has done. For example, Solomon Systech is the Driver IC supplier, and Kopin recently adopted back light technology from Omron and LCD measurement technology from Bona Fide for their products."

The Acting Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Ophelia Tsang also welcomed Kopin's decision to set up its regional operations in Hong Kong.