For Immediate Release
Stephen Ng, Chairman and Managing Director of Wharf (Holdings) Limited, has been re-elected Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) for the coming year. Ng said he is honoured to be re-elected, and would like to thank all members for their continued support and confidence in him.
Speaking at a press conference before the Annual General Meeting, Ng said the Chamber is committed to ensuring that Hong Kong remains an attractive and competitive place to do business.
However, he warned the business community is becoming increasingly concerned about internal conflicts diminishing Hong Kong’s competitiveness.
“Over the past 20 years, Hong Kong has slipped sadly down the league of top business cities in the region, never mind in the world. In many ways, we actually went backwards, while everyone else moved forwards and we are making similar mistakes that are now troubling Europe,” he said.
“Instead of working together to grow the pie, we have turned our attention to working against one another to divide a static if not contracting pie. The more Hong Kong loses out to our competitors, the less we have to share within Hong Kong and the more severe the internal conflicts will become.”
Ng said he believes opening new markets is fundamental to the economic development and prosperity of Hong Kong. Citing the huge interest from countries around the world in the recent Belt & Road Forum in Beijing, along with the Greater Bay Area opportunities, he said Hong Kong needs to seize the opportunities that these projects present before others do.
“Both the Belt & Road and GBA trains are already rolling at top speed, with or without Hong Kong,” he added. “Hong Kong has to decide whether to try to get on the train or be left behind.”
Regarding raising the competitiveness of Hong Kong’s business environment, he said that comprehensive and thorough evaluations of proposed and existing legislations are crucial to ensure that these are consistent with and conducive to market developments. The Chamber shall continue to impress on the Government the need for good regulatory practices through Regulatory Impact Assessments.
On working with the incoming Administration, Ng said, “We look forward to building consensus to helpHong Kong’s economy make up on lost ground and quickly catch up to competitors after past years of internal bickering. In this fiercely competitive environment, standing still is by default suicide.”
Chamber CEO Shirley Yuen added that the Chamber will continue to contribute its ideas on making Hong Kong a better and more effective place to do business. “In the Chamber’s latest submission to CE-Elect Carrie Lam, we propose policies for easing the current challenges facing local businesses, such as the two-tier profits tax system, as well as longer-term planning in line with the development of the Greater Bay Area,” she said.
The election was held at the inaugural meeting of the new General Committee immediately after the HKGCC’s Annual General Meeting on the evening of 18 May. Aron Harilela, Chairman and CEO of Hari Harilela Ltd, was also re-elected as Deputy Chairman.
The three Vice Chairmen also re-elected are, respectively: Victor Li, Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd; Leland Sun, Managing Director of Pan Asian Mortgage Co Ltd; and Peter Wong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.
At the Annual General Meeting, members elected a total of six members to fill the seats on the General Committee – the governing body of the Chamber – who were required to step down this year. Four of them were re-elected, respectively: Nicholas Brooke, Benjamin Hung, Yu Pang Chun and Allan Zeman. Joseph Ho Lim Chan, Vice Chairmanof HealthMindful Consultancy, and Neville S Shroff,Chairman and CEO of Shroff & Co Ltd, were newly elected as General Committee members.
Following is an updated list of the General Committee.
Chairman: Stephen Ng
Deputy Chairman: Aron Harilela
Vice Chairmen: Victor Li, Leland Sun, Peter Wong
LegCo Representative:Jeffrey K F Lam
General Committee Members:
Nicholas Brooke, Jennifer Chan, Joseph Ho Lim Chan, Oscar Chow, Allen Fung, Stanley Hui, Benjamin Hung, Ronald Lee, David Lie, Y K Pang, Neville S Shroff, John Slosar, Anthony Wu, Emil Yu, Yu Pang Chun, Edmond Yue, Yue Yi, Betty Yuen and Allan Zeman.
Photo captions:Photo 1: Chairman’s Committee; Photo 2: General Committee
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Media inquiries: Please contact Ms Milly Lo at 2823-1248 / [email protected]