The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), in consultation with the Steering Committee of Hong Kong ICT Awards, today (February 28) announced its decision on the reassessment of two awardee companies under the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2016. The two companies involved are Metas Hong Kong Limited (Metas), the winner of Best ICT Startup Grand Award and Gold Award winner of Best ICT Startup (Hardware and Devices) Award, and Znaps Limited, which won the Bronze Award of Best ICT Startup (Hardware and Devices) Award.Following media reports in mid-2016, the OGCIO in August 2016 requested the Leading Organiser (LO) for the Best ICT Startup Award category, i.e. Hong Kong Information Technology Joint Council, to carry out a reassessment of the two cases. In mid-December 2016, the LO submitted its reassessment report to the OGCIO and subsequently, taking into account comments from the OGCIO and the Steering Committee, submitted its updated report on February 14, 2017. Having considered the updated report, the OGCIO decided that awards granted to Metas should remain unchanged while Znaps Limited was disqualified.Based on the information provided by Metas and obtained through further investigation work by the LO as well as on the advice of the Steering Committee, the OGCIO agreed with the findings of the LO that Metas's product was not involved in any IP rights infringement legal disputes and met the entry requirements for the award.As for the case on Znaps Limited, the OGCIO, after reviewing all information and on the advice of the Steering Committee, considered that Znaps Limited did not fully meet the stipulated entry requirement, particularly the requirement that the "product must be launched for at least three months". In this regard, the OGCIO decided to disqualify Znaps Limited from the award status.For the 2017 Hong Kong ICT Awards, the OGCIO has taken steps to put in place improvement measures to strengthen the processing of applications and the work of the LO in verification of entry requirements and adjudication. The OGCIO will continue to work with different sectors in promoting the development of the local ICT industry through the well-recognised professional award.

Ends/Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Issued at HKT 19:45

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