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Bowtie Story 
[19 July, 2024 — HONG KONG] Primary Care Education Foundation (PCEF), Merck Group (Merck), a leading science and technology company, and Bowtie, Hong Kong’s first virtual insurer, collaborate to announce the launch of the “Family Matters Initiative”.
According to the “Annual Report 2023” published by the United Nations Population Fund’s, Hong Kong is one of the cities with lowest fertility rate1 – this situation is becoming increasingly serious, and it is one of the major concerns of Hong Kong society.
In addition, the trend of delaying childbirth is also noteworthy: according to the Census and Statistics Department, the fertility rate among women aged 20-24 has decreased by 77% over the past 30 years, while the fertility rate among women aged 40-44 has increased by 91%2.
While enjoying the quality business environment of Hong Kong, private enterprises should also shoulder part of their social responsibility by encouraging their staff to organise their families and contribute to the long-term development of Hong Kong.
Therefore, PCEF, Merck and Bowtie have launched the “Family Matters Initiative”. Through various measures such as educational and fertility subsidies, the initiative aims to create a family-friendly working environment for employees, supporting and encouraging them in building families for Hong Kong’s future development.
To gain deeper insights into the factors and challenges that Hong Kong residents encounter when deciding to have children, three organizations conducted the “Primary Care Education Foundation x Merck x Bowtie Family Support Needs Survey 2024”. This online survey, carried out in the first half of 2024, included approximately 200 employees in Hong Kong. The survey aimed to identify their needs and expectations for corporate and government support related to fertility and family. The key findings are summarised below:
Individual factors:
- Nearly 80% of the respondents considered that at least $6 million would be required to raise a child up to the age of 22;
- About 67% of the respondents considered that a family income of more than $100,000 would be sufficient to meet childcare expenses;
- About 76% of the respondents believe that work pressure affects their desire to have children.
Corporate factors:
- Less than 30% of the respondents said that their enterprises had fertility encouraging measures;
- About 84% of the respondents hoped that enterprises would provide more flexible working arrangements to assist childcare;
- About 51% of the respondents said that they would consider having children more actively if their enterprises provided more incentives for childbearing.
Government factors:
- About 57% of the respondents considered that the Government should prioritise the investment of resources in financial support;
- About 71% of the respondents considered that the existing fertility incentives provided by the Government were insufficient.
The survey results reveal that financial burdens are the primary factor deterring most Hong Kong residents from having children. Additionally, the overlap between the prime periods for career advancement and childbirth leads many women to delay or even forgo having children. Furthermore, most respondents believe that alongside government support, the maternity benefits provided by employers play a crucial role in their decision-making process.
As one of the initiators of the “Family Matters Initiative,” Merck has announced it will provide HK$280,000 fertility subsidies for each employee. This comprehensive support covers fertility testing, egg freezing, treatments for both female and male infertility — including ovulation induction (OI), intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilisation (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), hormonal treatments, and sperm retrieval surgeries. Given that the high cost of IVF is a significant deterrent for many women in Hong Kong, these subsidies aim to alleviate the financial burden on employees and encourage higher birth rates to improve the overall fertility rate in the region.
“We are pleased to offer substantial support to our employees in addressing their childbirth needs and resolving urgent issues, creating more favourable incentives for them to have children. This initiative not only enhances the quality of life for our employees, but also positively impacts the overall fertility rate of Hong Kong. We will continue to actively host various activities of the ‘Family Matters Initiative,’ contributing to the sustainable development of Hong Kong society.” said Tony Cheng, Managing Director of Merck Hong Kong & Macau.
Apart from the above program, PCEF, Merck and Bowtie will also work together to promote knowledge about fertility, egg freezing and IVF, etc. through filming videos and writing articles, responding to the concerns of the public about building a family.
“As a purpose-driven startup, Bowtie is delighted to be one of the initiators of ‘Family Matters Initiative.’ We believe it is our responsibility to cultivate a family-friendly work culture for our hard-working employees. Alongside offering the convenience of a work-from-home policy, we aim to raise awareness about childbearing through health education, helping Hong Kong residents better plan their families.” said Fred Ngan, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Bowtie.
“Through the exemplary involvement of Merck and Bowtie, we aim to inspire more companies to join the ‘Family Matters Initiative.’ We firmly believe that enterprises must collaborate with the government to provide greater support for the people of Hong Kong, thereby fundamentally encouraging higher birth rates. Our goal is to motivate more businesses to implement various family-friendly measures, working together towards the vision of ‘Building Family, Building Hong Kong.” said Mr. Kwan Chi-kang, Chairman of Primary Care Education Foundation.
About Bowtie
The Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited is an authorised life insurance company and Hong Kong’s first virtual insurer. Its vision is to bridge the medical protection gap and transform the way people access healthcare in Hong Kong. By combining modern technology and medical expertise, Bowtie offers a commission-free and convenient online platform for customers to quote, apply, and claim for medical insurance plans anytime, anywhere. Bowtie is backed by Sun Life Financial, Mitsui & Co, and supported by leading international investors. Currently, Bowtie has raised more than HK$680 million and provided over HK$90 billion of insured value to families. Stay up to date at https://www.bowtie.com.hk/en/.
About Primary Care Education Foundation
Primary Care Education Foundation (PCEF) is a non-profit organisation established in Hong Kong since 2019. Our main aim is to protect and promote the health and wellbeing, to be a strong advocate for health education and health promotion for individuals, groups and communities, and support efforts to achieve health equity.
About Merck
Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. Around 63,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2023, Merck generated sales of € 21 billion in 65 countries. Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare, and EMD Electronics in electronics. For more information, please visit: https://www.merckgroup.com/en.
- 1The average number of children per woman in Hong Kong is 0.8, lower than South Korea (0.9), Singapore (1.0), Macau (1.1), and mainland China (1.2): https://wcaro.unfpa.org/en/publications/annual-report-2023-0#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20UNFPA%20achieved%20significant,deaths%20and%20ending%20gender%2Dbased
- 2Fertility Trend in Hong Kong, 1991 to 2021: https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/data/stat_report/product/FA100090/att/B72302FA2023XXXXB0100.pdf
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