Hong Kong's MiCHK 2025 Contest Winners to Compete in Global Final After Successful Cyberport Event

2025 Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter successfully held

The Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter (MiCHK) 2025 Final was held successfully at Cyberport today (September 25). "Apeiron" by Aither Entertainment Limited won the Champion prize, while "Savoir by EasyHear" by Logital Co. Limited and "AI powered Encapsulation and Microfluidic Platforms for Diverse Cell-based Applications" by Rain Biotech Solutions Limited won the First Runner-up and Second Runner-up prizes respectively. The three winning teams will represent the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to compete in the Global Final Contest of the Maker in China to be held in the fourth quarter of this year in Guangzhou.

Addressing the event, the Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Tony Wong, said that to align with the country's innovation and technology (I&T) development strategy, the HKSAR Government has been committed to nurturing local I&T start-ups to strengthen the I&T capabilities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The MiCHK serves as an excellent platform for Hong Kong start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to expand their business and enter the Mainland market. In recent years, many award-winning teams from Hong Kong have successfully connected with multiple Mainland enterprises through the MiCHK, establishing a presence on the Mainland and setting up branch offices and sales networks in various GBA cities, as well as in Hangzhou, Xi'an and Beijing. Furthermore, many teams have attracted the attention of enterprises and investors from the Mainland, receiving procurement contracts or reaching strategic collaboration agreements. This has enabled their I&T products and solutions to be successfully implemented in various provinces and cities on the Mainland.

Mr Wong pointed out that this year's contest has particularly included frontier technological fields such as low-altitude economy and aerospace, intelligent devices and robotics, as well as semiconductors and integrated circuits, in order to support the development of emerging and future industries. He congratulated the winning teams and encouraged all participants to continue striving for excellence in the innovation and entrepreneurship arena, injecting new momentum into the country's high-quality development through their innovative achievements.

The MiCHK 2025 has received overwhelming responses, reaching a record high of 157 local innovation projects. After initial screening and a semi-final held earlier, the top 10 finalists entered the Final today, where they competed for the Champion, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up honours by staging roadshows to a panel of judges comprising local and Mainland experts of different I&T fields. In addition, one-on-one business matching sessions between the top 10 finalists and investors and enterprises from the GBA were arranged today. The top 10 finalists were given opportunities to join different incubation and acceleration programmes and exhibitions to promote their products and services to different regions through various platforms, connect with Mainland investors, set up in the Mainland entrepreneurial parks and receive guidance on result transformation. Please refer to makerinchina.hk/ for details about the entries.

With the support of the Guangzhou Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality and the People's Government of Guangzhou Nansha District, this is the seventh time the regional chapter has taken place in Hong Kong. The MiCHK 2025 is organised by the Digital Policy Office of the HKSAR Government, the China Centre for Promotion of SME Development of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, and the China International Cooperation Association of SMEs, and is formulated by the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited and the Angel Investment Foundation.

2025 Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter successfully held Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

2025 Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter successfully held Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

2025 Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter successfully held Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

2025 Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter successfully held Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

January 2026 issue of "Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics" now available

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) published today (January 15) the January 2026 issue of the "Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics" (HKMDS).

Apart from providing up-to-date statistics, this issue also contains a feature articles entitled "Marriage and Divorce Trends in Hong Kong, 1991 to 2024".

"Marriage and Divorce Trends in Hong Kong, 1991 to 2024"

This feature article provides an overview on the marriage and divorce trends in Hong Kong from 1991 to 2024.

There has been an increasing tendency towards marriage postponement or non-marriage in both genders. In 2021, 30.9% of males and 27.0% of females had never been married (figures excluding foreign domestic helpers). The median ages at first marriage for males and females increased from 29.1 and 26.2 in 1991 to 32.6 and 31.0 in 2024 respectively. The number of registered marriages in Hong Kong decreased from 42 568 in 1991 to 32 825 in 2001 and gradually rebounded to 60 459 in 2012. A general downward trend resumed afterwards, with 44 196 registered marriages in 2024. On the other hand, Hong Kong females marrying Mainland males has become more common. The proportion of such marriages to all cross-boundary marriages increased significantly from 6.1% in 1991 to 40.0% in 2024. Furthermore, the number of divorces increased in the past 3 decades or so, with the crude divorce rate (per 1 000 population) increased from 1.11 in 1991 to 2.52 in 2024.

For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Demographic Statistics Section (1) of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 6933; email: population@censtatd.gov.hk).

Published in bilingual form, the HKMDS is a compact volume of official statistics containing about 130 tables. It collects up-to-date statistical series on various aspects of the social and economic situation of Hong Kong. Topics include population; labour; external trade; National Income and Balance of Payments; prices; business performance; energy; housing and property; government accounts, finance and insurance; and transport, communications and tourism. For selected key statistical items, over 20 charts depicting the annual trend in the past decade and quarterly or monthly trend in the recent two years are also available. Users can download the Digest at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1010002&scode=460).

Enquiries about the contents of the Digest can be directed to the Statistical Information Dissemination Section (1) of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4738; email: gen-enquiry@censtatd.gov.hk).

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), Photo source: reference image