The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore (Singapore ETO) supported Hong Kong teams participating in the LOVEBoracay International Dragon Boat Festival 2026, held from April 24 to 26 in the Philippines, while taking the opportunity to promote Hong Kong as the events capital of Asia.

     Jointly organised by the Boracay Dragon Boat Association (BDBA), Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF) and the local government unit of the Municipality of Malay, Aklan Province, the Festival attracted over 50 teams from 14 countries and regions, with some 2 000 athletes participating to compete for awards in five race categories. Among them, seven teams with nearly 200 racers were from Hong Kong. In support of the Hong Kong athletes, the Singapore ETO sponsored complimentary round-trip local transportation between the airport and hotel for all Hong Kong participants.

     To further engage with the Hong Kong teams and strengthen exchanges with local counterparts, the Singapore ETO hosted a “Hong Kong Night” dinner yesterday (April 25), attended by about 40 guests, including representatives from Hong Kong teams, the BDBA, the PDBF, the local government unit of the Municipality of Malay, and the International Dragon Boat Federation. The evening facilitated active exchanges on dragon boat training and race experiences, as well as exploration of further collaboration and participation in future events.

     This evening (April 26), the Director of the Singapore ETO, Ms Elsa Hung, attended the Festival’s prize presentation ceremony and presented the HKETO Championship trophies, sponsored by the Singapore ETO, to the champions of the five race categories.

     Speaking at the ceremony, Ms Hung said that dragon boat racing has deep cultural roots and always brings together people from different regions and backgrounds, fostering exchange and friendship and inspiring a spirit of striving for excellence. She thanked the organisers for their dedicated efforts in organising the Festival and its continued support for Hong Kong teams, leading to a steady increase in the number of Hong Kong athletes taking part in the Festival in recent years.

     She added that the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board annually in June are a signature mega event that attracted over 4 500 participating athletes from around the world last year. The 2026 Races, marking the 50th anniversary of this iconic event, will be held on June 27 and 28. She invited athletes and participants in the Festival to join this cherished tradition and golden anniversary celebration in Hong Kong.

     Ms Hung highlighted that the Philippines is one of Hong Kong’s key partners. In 2025, Hong Kong welcomed a record high of 1.35 million visitors from the Philippines, representing a 12.8 per cent increase over 2024 and making the Philippines the second-largest non-Mainland visitor source market. Hong Kong has been forging ahead with its mega events economy, with a diverse array of events held throughout the year spanning finance and business, arts and culture, creative industries, sports and beyond. Ms Hung invited friends from the Philippines, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region and around the world to visit and experience Hong Kong’s unique vibrancy, diversity and charm as the events capital of Asia.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for Kwong Wah Hospital (KWH) today (April 26) issued the following clarification in response to discussion on social media posts suspecting that some patients may have received fraudulent bills:

     KWH emphasises that the hospital issues payment reminders for various services in accordance with established procedures and send paper bills by post. Members of Hospital Authority’s mobile app “HA Go” can also receive payment notifications and view the bills through the mobile app. Members of the public can visit the Hospital Authority’s website for details on payment arrangements.

     The spokesperson reminds members of the public not to provide any personal information or make any payments in response to suspicious correspondence of unknown origin. For enquiries, please contact KWH at 2332 0400, or check payment details on “HA Go”.

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington, DC, (HKETO, Washington DC), hosted on April 24 (Washington time) a briefing on opportunities in Hong Kong’s life and health sciences industry.
      
     The event, entitled “Hong Kong: Current Landscape and Development Opportunities in the Life Sciences Sector”, was held under the Economic and Trade Express initiative. It was jointly organised by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) New York Office. The event featured a presentation by co-founder of ElohaX, co-director of the University of Hong Kong-Cambridge AI to Advance Wellbeing and Society Research Platform and Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge, Professor Jacqueline Lam, on leveraging the strength of Hong Kong being a global “super connector” as well as a hub for converging talent, AI innovation and translational research that successfully transforms research into commercialisation.
      
     The event was attended by members of the Washington Intergovernmental Professional Group and locals from various sectors, including life and health science professionals, federal and local government representatives of the United States (US), think tanks, businesses and other private sector entities.
      
     The Director of the HKETO, Washington DC, Ms Elania Luk, said that with Hong Kong’s prominent status as an international financial centre and international innovation and technology (I&T) centre, good human capital (including world-class education institutions and top talent attraction programmes), holistic government support and a strong business and start-up presence, Hong Kong is poised for strong growth in the life and science sector. 
      
     “Hong Kong is the second-largest biotech funding hub globally, following only New York. Our listing rules allow pre-revenue companies to list and raise capital. In addition, Hong Kong is home to five of the world’s top 100 universities with a world-class research landscape supported by the Hong Kong Science Park and the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone.
      
     “Hong Kong is actively advancing the integrated development of life and health technology at upstream, midstream and downstream levels. On upstream research and development (R&D), we will pursue its development through Life and Health Technology Research Institute and various R&D centres under the InnoHK research clusters. On midstream outcome transformation, the Research, Academic, and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme has supported 15 projects. As for downstream industries, three major I&T parks together host nearly 500 relevant enterprises and organisations, creating a vibrant ecosystem,” Ms Luk added. 
      
     The Head of Business and Talent Attraction/Investment Promotion at InvestHK New York Office, Ms Xie Yi, spoke of how the office can provide bespoke services to US companies wishing to set up or expand their operations in Hong Kong to capitalise on regional markets and shared success stories of life and health sciences companies using Hong Kong as a platform for business development and expansion.
      
     The Director (New York & Midwest) of the HKTDC, Mr Curtis Louie,  introduced how the Asia Summit on Global Health – one of Hong Kong’s flagship exhibition events which will take place on May 11 and 12 – would be relevant for American businesses and how the office’s support services and strong networks can facilitate commercial and market opportunities.
      
     Professor Lam shared how ElohaX seeks to improve health and quality of life through AI innovation, particularly with regard to research and therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. She spoke of Hong Kong being a launch pad for interdisciplinary AI innovation.
      
     Attendees also enjoyed an exhibition of curated paintings under the theme of “Hong Kong: Our Home”. The paintings were commissioned by the Social Welfare Department under the Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with various non-governmental organisations. The paintings, among other things, exemplify Hong Kong’s efforts in unleashing the potential of persons with disabilities in artistic activities and their contribution to society.