Opening remarks
Barry Macdonald oriented the meeting by first welcoming the delegates to Amsterdam. He was proud to lead the Federation and was delighted to see that Hong Kong is prospering, as evidently recognized by a recent article “Ny Lon Kong” in the Time magazine, which regarded Hong Kong as one of the three cities that is suited for the new economy.
Updates from Hong Kong Business Associations (HKBAs) in Europe: 2007 Review and 2008 Initiatives
1. Setting up new chapters in various cities: the background and progress
To help expand the association, some new chapters were set up under the existing structure. In Germany, a Hamburg chapter was set up in 2007, resulting in an increase in membership of 25% in Germany.
The Hungary Hong Kong Business Association was established in Nov 2007 encompassing 20 members. It had a target of recruiting 40 members by the end of 2008.
The Royal Sweden Hong Kong Society was reaching outside Stockholm, with chapters planned to set up in Malmoe and Göteborg. The association planned to extend its network and members around Sweden.
2. Inviting young people and students to join
Finland – Hong Kong Trade Association and Denmark – Hong Kong Trade Association were looking for younger students who were interested in the PRD. They were potential members of the Hong Kong business associations in future.
In 2005, cooperation was established between the Hungary academy of engineers and a similar association in Hong Kong, which made an exchange possible for students in Hungary and Hong Kong.
In Switzerland, an exchange had also been initiated between universities in Switzerland and Hong Kong.
3. Activities
In Netherlands, there was a market place presentation, where members shared their business experience in HK and China.
In Belgium, a high level presentation by the Belgian Financial Minister on the avoidance of double taxation agreement between Belgium and HK was organised.
In Ireland, the association continued to grow as the activities were well supported by the HK government and the HKETO. For example, a seminar and lunch meeting on HK-Guangdong was co-organised for the HK secretary of Justices in October. According to the members, HK was featured largely in the Dublin business community.
In Switzerland, a 50-person delegation of lawyers would visit HK-Shanghai and Beijing. The Swiss Federal Council would join an association event, and would also do a charity drive for victims of the 12 May earthquake in Sichuan province.
In the United Kingdom, activities such as meeting with Mr. Christopher To of the HK Arbitration Centre, the 10th Anniversary dinner, Christmas Drinks Party, as well as a meeting with the Chairman of the UK Chamber of Commerce in HK were organised.
In Italy, seminars on HK were organised. One of the successful events was the China Trader Award.
Cultural events had also played an important role in the activities of the associations. Members expressed their desire to continue with organising activities such as Jazz concerts, symphony concert, and Chinese New Year events with the Chinese embassy and with the HKTDC. Seminars had also been co-organised with Guangdong attracting 200 persons.
Other associations in Europe that hosted a Chinese New Year- related celebration with a good turn out included Belgium, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. Many of these events had included Jazz performances or dinner. The one in Belgium involved Mr. Henry Tang, Chief Secretary of HKSAR and the Belgian Vice Prime Minister.
4. Websites and newsletters for promotions
Websites and newsletters were considered by the members as the most effective way to provide information and business brief to members, and to publicize success stories of the members.
Associations that had already been publishing newsletters include Ireland and Switzerland.
The initiative of Italy setting up a website in cooperation with the Hong Kong Tourism Board did not work out.
In terms of improving the existing websites, members added that it was essential to frequently update the content and respond to queries. This could be carried out effectively through:
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Recruiting young people as interns and awarding them with certificates as an appreciation to their effort in creating or improving a website. |
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Introducing a scholarship to the HK Forum. One or two students could be sent to the HK forum |
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Establishing a web library including video files with useful information. However, the costs of website must be under control. |
5. Speakers Invitation
Speakers were sometimes invited to attend business-related events to discuss - topics of interest to members. As pointed out by some members, the quality of speakers and events were critical to recruiting new members from the event. Some commented that speakers sometimes came at a very short notice which did not allow sufficient planning for a successful event. Members were recommended to take reference to Hong Kong’s Government Information Service (GOS) which had an unit tracking HK VIPS travelling abroad.
6. HKTDC website and success stories
The HKTDC website received 1 million hits per day, and most of the inquiries were related to sourcing. The databank of the HKTDC possessed 660,000 company records, and the data were updated on a regular basis. The HKTDC website provided virtual exhibitions; web casts etc with information in both Chinese and English. Members also praised the weekly e-newsletter and would recommend other members to subscribe to this a-la-carte electronic magazine. Members also found success stories on Hong Kong to be very important in spreading the Hong Kong message across.
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