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We have concluded our Member-get-Member Contest on November 15. The Lottery was taken place at the 9th Annual Hong Kong Business Summit on November 27. Sixteen lucky winners were drawn and their names will be listed in the upcoming issue of the Bulletin. Congratulations to Mr Danny Ho of IMC Holdings Limited, who has won the first prize of two business class roundtrip air tickets from Hong Kong to London by Cathay Pacific, and the other fifteen lucky winners. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the 29 members who participated in the Contest, and all together they have recruited 38 new corporate members to the Chamber. We hope everyone can keep up with the spirit of helping the Chamber to grow by referring more new members to us.

The Product Standards Information Bureau (PSIB) provides a range of standard-related services, including the technical enquiry service, the product standards library and the standards sales service. PSIB aims to promote awareness of and compliance with the standard and regulatory requirements for Hong Kong's major markets amongst manufacturers and exporters. If interested in PSIB��s services, please call Miss Gloria Leung at 2829-4823 or Miss Amanda Kwong at 2829-4809.

The Information Technology Services Department is organising a "Networking Hour" on Thursday, 19 December 2002, from 5:00-7:00 pm at the Exhibition Hall, 4/F HKPC Building, 78 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong.

The aim of the event is to facilitate the development of the IT industry locally and to provide a networking opportunity with the local IT industry players so as to exchange views and to have a better understanding of the needs and concerns of the industry. The Hon Mr Henry Tang, Secretary for Commerce, Industry & Technology will be the guest of honour of the event.

The event is free of charge and reservation will be made on a first-come-first served basis. Enrolment can be made via www.digital21.gov.hk/networkinghour.   Should you have any queries, please contact Mr Francis Wai at tel: 2189-2506 or email: is@digital21.gov.hk.

The Information Technology and Broadcasting Branch and the Consulate-General of Canada in Hong Kong will co-organise a forum, with trade-matching sessions, on the information and communications technology (ICT) development of Hong Kong and Canada on 30 November 2002 at the HKCEC. The Canadian business delegation, led by Minister Allan Rock of Industry Canada, will also attend the ITU TELECOM ASIA 2002. If you are interested to take part in the forum and the trade-matching sessions, please write to rtang@ctib.gov.hk for more information. Application deadline is 15 November 2002.

The Cattle Depot is organising a 3-day festival with a series of programme, including a forum on "Cultural Platform in between Urban Spaces", cinema paradiso, rave concert, Cantonese opera, as well as mime and puppet performance. Besides, of the 19 artist entities in the artist village, each will have its own exhibitions. All studios will be open to the public during the festival, which will be full of enlightenment and artistic entertainment. Interested members please contact Ms Candy Ng (tel: 2529-0087) or email: cattledepot@sinaman.com.

The Business Coalition on the Environment, through the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, is organising a luncheon on "Sustainable Transport for Hong Kong" on 20 November at Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong with Mr Bill Barron and Ms Christine Loh as speakers.

Transport services should be fast, convenient and reasonably priced to fulfill the basic need of mobility. But there are constraints for sustainable transport due to the different expectations from the rising population, financial costs, and the complexity of integrating all the factors into consideration. There is considerable potential for efficiency improvement, and even greater potential exists in reducing wasteful competition between bus and rail.

The speakers will be presenting their research and sharing their thoughts on sustainable transport at the luncheon. Interested members please register at 2823-1228 with Ms Looby Ho (HKGCC members are given discount rate at $390 per person).

For those corporate members whose membership expires at the end of this year, you will be receiving a renewal notice in the mail shortly. We would highly appreciate it that you will send in your renewal early, to continue enjoying all the benefits and services that the Chamber provides to you.

This year, as we recognize that smaller companies have contributed significantly to the economy and are experiencing great difficulty in their business, we are offering to these companies an extra incentive in the form of a "Small Company Bonus". Effective immediately, existing and new corporate members employing 10 or fewer staff will be issued special program coupons worth $400, redeemable for Chamber roundtable or subscription luncheons. Coupons can be used in conjunction with cash for higher entrance fee events. Coupons will be issued to members whose membership expires at the end of this year after they have renewed their membership. Other members will automatically receive the coupons in the mail. However, if you are entitled for this bonus but have not declared your company size to us yet, please do so by filling in the information on the specified corner of the renewal notice, or contact our Membership Department at 2823-1248 / 2823-1203.

Just to remind you to fill in and fax back the Chamber survey this week, if you have not yet done so, before the deadline on Friday, 1 November 2002. We have received over 330 responses so far, very encouraging. We want your views count and your participating in the survey will shape our report on Hong Kong's economy outlook at this year's Hong Kong Business Summit (27 November). If you do not have the survey on hand, you may go to the Chamber Web site front page to either download the survey and fax back or reply directly on-line. If you have further queries, please ask our Wendy Kwok at 2823-1253.

The Trade and Industry Department has recently launched new on-line services in the web site of the SME funding schemes at www.smefund.tid.gov.hk.

The new services enable SMEs to submit applications for the SME Business Installations and Equipment Loan Guarantee Scheme (BIG), SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF), SME Training Fund (STF) and SME Development Fund (SDF). Participating lending institutions of the BIG can also make use of the service. Applicants can also make use of the new services to check the status, amend or withdraw previously submitted applications under the EMF and STF.

We are faxing out the Chamber's Pay Review 2003 to all members today. The circular offers Chamber's views on the annual pay review process for the coming calendar year 2003. They are for our members' reference only, and members should assess the circumstances of their individual business or industry sector in determining pay policies for the year ahead. If you have not yet received this circular by Saturday, 19 October, you should notify us, by return email, informing us your membership number or company name and fax or email address, so that we can forward you the circular.

Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympic Games is expected to give rise to vast opportunities for enterprises to tap. We are organising a Distinguished Speakers Event for the Mayor of Beijing, Mr Liu Qi, who is also the President of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games, to deliver a dinner talk on the opportunities that the 2008 Olympic Games would bring for the business community in Hong Kong. The dinner will be held on Tuesday, 29 October, 6:45 pm - 9:30 pm, at Grand Hyatt. Key members of the Beijing Organising Committee will attend this dinner to mingle with guests. His speech will be conducted in Mandarin with simultaneous interpretation in English. Book on-line now (under Chamber Event)! Please call our Joe Cheng at 2823-1255 for further enquiries.

The Consulate General of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Hong Kong announced on 10 October 2002 that with immediate effect, visa exemption period granted to the holders of the HKSAR passport for visiting Egypt is extended from 14 days to 90 days for tourism, business and transit purposes. On the basis of reciprocity, holders of Egyptian passport will also be able to enter HKSAR without a visa for a stay of up to 90 days with immediate effect.

The free seminar, to be held on 13 November 2002 afternoon at HKCEC, is jointly organised by the Information Technology Services Department and the Internet Professionals Association. It will introduce the underlying design concepts and techniques to make web sites accessible to people with disabilities. Interested parties may obtain program information from www.info.gov.hk/digital21 . Enrolment deadline is 6 November. Seminar language will be in Cantonese with English terminology.

The Telecommunications Research Project of the University of Hong Kong is organising a one-day Conference on ��Next Generation Wireless Services Development in Hong Kong�� on Wednesday, 20 November 2002, at the Sheraton Hotel. $400 per person (lunch included). For details and registration, please visit www.trp.hku.hk   or contact Ms Jenny Wan of the Telecommunications Research Project at Tel: 2859-1919 or Fax: 2857-9434.

Please mark your diary now for the following big Chamber events:

China Business Conference 2002 on Tuesday, 5 November 2002, whole day at HKCEC.

Hong Kong Business Summit 2002 ��Keeping Hong Kong Competitive - 2003 and Beyond�� on Wednesday, 27 November 2002, morning at HKCEC (New Wing).

We faxed to you recently a 7-page Business Prospects Survey for Hong Kong. Appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to respond and fax back to us before 1 November. Results of the survey will be announced and analysed by our Chief Economist, Ian Perkin, at the Summit. This will be his last public speaking to Chamber members before his leaving the Chamber on 30 November.

If you have not received the survey, you may download it or fill-it-online from our Web site, or contact our Wendy Kwok at 2823-1253 for a copy.

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The Government announced on 16 August 2002 the liberalisation of the rice trade as from 1 January 2003. A briefing session on the issue will be organised by the Trade and Industry Department at 10:00 am on 15 October 2002 at the HKPC Building. Any parties interested in applying for registration as a rice stockholder for the year 2003 are invited to attend the briefing session. If interested in attending the session, please contact Ms Elsa Hung or Ms K Y Yip at 2398-5453 and 2398-5569 respectively on or before 9 October 2002 for obtaining the reply form of the briefing session.

The Hong Kong Housing Authority has recently established a new set of administration rules for its List of ARCS Contractors with a view to widening the List and attracting potential manufacturers to develop ARCS for use in its projects. The Authority has completed seven ARCS since 1995 and there are eight other ARCS currently under design or construction. Contract amounts range from HK$20 to 50 million each. If you require further information on the new rules and ARCS projects, please contact Mr T K Ng at 2761-6105 or Mr C M Chanat 2761-6455.

The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong will hold the captioned conference, in Cantonese, on 8 November 2002, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm at Room 401 of the HKCEC. The topics will cover men in the workplace, men's role in the family, sex issue and its therapy, etc. Admission fee is HK$100. Registration deadline is 1 November. If interested, please visit www.famplan.org.hk  or call Ms Mak at 2919-7743. This is the first conference in HK to discuss men��s health issues. It may help the Association to formulate its services to men in future based on the comments and opinions received from the conference.

We would like to remind those 1,408 members who have successfully entered into our COMIUS system through the password given by the Chamber to use the on-line facility continuously to update their company records. The facility will help ensure the most accurate information about their companies presented to the viewers of the Chamber Web site. If you have changes in your key personnel, company correspondence, or business interests, please use our COMIUS system to do the updating instantly and minimize key-in errors.

We would like to remind you that this is the last service of the Chamber Brief News to non-members. From 1 October, we will email the News to members�� representatives only. Non-members are encouraged to join the Chamber to enjoy the full range of membership services.

Hong Kong demonstrates its commitment to safeguarding the global maritime trade system against terrorism by supporting the US Container Security Initiative (CSI). The two Customs signed the Declaration of Principles (DOP) on 23 September in Hong Kong. Under the DOP, the HK and US Customs will exchanged information and work together closely to facilitate the identification and screening of high-risk containers. A small team of US Customs personnel will be placed in HK, where they will work jointly with HK authorities. The HK Government will ensure the overall port efficiency would not be compromised as a result of supporting the CSI. Click on to our "Corporate News" to read the US Customs' press release.

World Standard Day is organised by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). They have been active in developing international standards and working towards compatibility of systems worldwide. The theme for World Standard Day 2002 is "One standard, one test - accepted everywhere", promoting the adoption of common standards and testing method all over the world to eliminate duplicative testing of goods and services. More details are available at www.iso.org. Please contact Miss Gloria Leung of the Innovation and Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government at 2829-4823 if you require further information.

Office of the Telecommunications Authority is organising two events on the theme of "Enrich your living. Gain access to new telecom services." Admission Free.

The World of Intelligent Living - Your Mini-Carnival - 28-29 September

From 10:00 am - 9:00 pm at 1/F Fantasy Island of Maritime Square, Tsing Yi
Format: Demonstration of intelligent systems, exhibition and games

Towards Intelligent Living: Gaining Access to New Telecom Services - 6 October

Talk Show: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm; Exhibition and Games: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Format: Talk show and sharing with professionals, demonstration of intelligent systems, exhibition and games

To register, please click onto www.ofta.gov.hk.

South China Morning Post and Sing Tao are respectively offering exclusive discounts and free job posting advertisements to participating companies of the "One Company One Job" campaign through HKGCC. These special offers can only apply to registered vacancies under the campaign through HKGCC (either the One Company One Job Logo or the phrase has to appear on the ad) and are valid until 31 December 2002: South China Morning Post - 20% discount on Classified Post (for graduate posts only) and free on Jiu Jik (print and online); Sing Tao - 10% discount on net rate for JobMarket and free for JobMarket online. For inquiries about the offer and the "One Company One Job" campaign, please contact our Karen Fung at 2823-1240.

This is the largest and most popular outdoor exhibition in town organised by the Chinese Manufacturers Association. It features Hong Kong brands and products and has become a vey welcome family activity during year-end. This year will also be the last year that the Expo held at Tamar Site. If you are interested in renting a booth, please visit www.hkpe.com.hk  for details or call Miss Nancy Wong of Neway International Trade Fairs Ltd at 2561-5566 or email to nancyw@newayfairs.com .

The Chamber has been providing four weekly email alerts to members and non-members for some time. They are (1) Business Opportunities Alert, which is on trade inquiries and tender news; (2) Chamber Alert, which is on important business news and government announcements; (3) Chamber Brief News, a snap shot of interesting events and news in HK; (4) What's On at the Chamber, which provides a list of upcoming Chamber events and training courses. In order to enhance our membership benefits, we have restricted the Business Opportunities Alert email service to company representatives of our members only since August. We will do the same for Chamber Alert and Chamber Brief News on 1 October. Thereafter, only company representatives of our members will be entitled to receive these two alerts. For non-members, if they wish to be served, we would encourage them to join the Chamber, either as a Member or an Individual Associates. Please view our web site for membership information. Another way is to do online sign up from our front page for the alerts, or simply enter your email address in the box on the left and click the "Go" button. Call our Sharon Chung at 2823-1203 if you have further questions on our membership services.

We would like to report to you on the progress of the OCOJ campaign. As of 28 August, 236 companies have responded and offered 797 vacancies through the Chamber to the OCOJ campaign. This is a very good start and shows positively the support from Chamber members to help fresh graduates to gain work experience and training. Please be reminded that the OCOJ campaign will continue until year-end. If you may offer vacancies in the next few months under OCOJ, please contact our Karen Fung at 2823-1240. We have also posted some of the vacancies in the Chamber web site. The page attracts about 1,000 views a day and helps to facilitate job matching between our members and graduates. One more job matched is one more graduate being hired, and that could create an encouraging atmosphere for the economy as a whole. Let us do our best to help these young people. Thank you for your support.

The General Committee of the Chamber recently approved that the title of Chamber Director, Dr Eden Woon, be changed to CEO, effective 1 September 2002. Seven division heads have also had title changes. The complete list of title changes can be found on the Chamber web site.

The Chamber IT team designed the COMIUS system to facilitate members updating their company records in the Chamber Directory by using the Internet. It was first launched in 18 May. We are extremely pleased that so far 1,388 members have responded by activating the passwords we gave them and accessed to their company records. Out of which, 969 members actually amended their records. In order to protect the accuracy and security of the company records, those members who have not yet activated their passwords will not be able to use the given passwords for access after 6 September 2002. On the other hand, the 1,388 members who have activated their passwords are allowed to use their passwords hereafter to online update their company records as and when they need to do so. Please be reminded that updated information may help your company to attract and match with the right business opportunities.

Getting bored of the mundane work clothes you have been wearing for ages and looking for new excitements on a regular workday? By donating HK$50 or more, you can join the Dress Casual Day organised by The Community Chest on Monday, 30 September, the day before National Day. All donations raised through Dress Casual Day this year will be allocated to support "Family and Child Welfare Services" under the Chest umbrella. As a token of appreciation, an acknowledgement listing the names of participating organisations will appear in major newspapers on the event day.

Mark your calendar now and don't miss out the opportunity to be part of this fun and meaningful event. For enquiries, please call Miss Anita Chan (Tel: 2599-6107) or Miss Tiffany Chan (Tel: 2599-6101) of the Chest office.

Since we formally noticed members about the "One Company One Job" campaign with vacancy form on 2 August, over 150 member companies have answered our call as of 15 August offering more than 520 jobs. Thank you for the tremendous support. Apart from forwarding these vacancies to the Labour Department for job matching purposes, we have decided to post these offers on the Chamber web site to help new graduates and our members for own matching. You may now click to these vacancies either from the front page or under "Opportunities" of our web site. As the campaign will last until the end of the year, you may forward us the vacancy forms as and when the jobs become available for the new graduates and we will update the information in our OCOJ page accordingly.

Moreover, we are thinking of expanding this web listing service, free of charge, exclusively to our members through the Chamber web site. Would you let us know whether you will use or not to use this service, if make available, by a return email stating your choice, please?

The Business Opportunities Email Alert is sent every Monday on trade inquiries received by the Chamber during the week. In order to enhance membership benefits, from now on this alert service will only be sent to the primary and additional company representatives of our member companies or Individual Associates who have provided us their email addresses. In other words, non-members can only check on these opportunities by viewing our web site directly without the benefit of being alerted to them. One more reason to encourage your friends to join the Chamber! If you have queries on trade opportunities or wish to join the Chamber as member or Individual Associates, please call our maggie fung at 2823-1248 or email to mfung@chamber.org.hk.

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) is organising in conjunction with the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and other trade organisations a 2-day workshop, 10-11 September, at Room 401, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, on "Bridging the Gap - Development of Mobile Multi-media, Value-added and Content Applications in the New Era". The workshop aims to establish a stimulating environment for the development of value-added and content applications, to encourage demand and innovation in the sector, as well as to provide technical guidance and toolkits to application developers.

Registration at HK$300 per person, on a first-come-first-served basis. Details available from the OFTA website at: http://www.ofta.gov.hk/frameset/home_index_eng.html.

For enquiries, please contact:
Ms Anna Lai  (Tel: 2961-6796  email: annalai@asia2002.gov.hk)
Ms Annissa Cheng  (Tel: 2961-6233  email: annissacheng@asia2002.gov.hk)

The Chamber's Member-get-Member Contest launched on 17 June has been very well received by members, and now, entering the contest could not be easier. All you have to do is to just send an email to MGM@chamber.org.hk, and you will then receive an instant email reply containing Chamber membership application details. Then just forward the email to a potential new member. What could be easier? You can also sign up a new member online at www.chamber.org.hk/member_get_member <http://www.chamber.org.hk/member_get_member>; or complete the referral form and return it to us by fax or mail; or just give us a call at 2823-1209. Remember, for each successful company you recruit, you will immediately be awarded a $200 PARKnSHOP coupon, and your name will be entered into the Year End Lottery. There are 16 attractive prizes to be won: including 2 Business round-trip tickets to London, sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airways. The more new members you recruit, the better chance you have of winning! Deadline: 15 November 2002.

The above free seminar is jointly organised by the Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs of the Trade and Industry Department and the Hong Kong Productivity Council on 8 August 2002, 2:30-5:00 pm, at HKPC Building. The seminar's purpose is provide relevant information to SMEs which are interested in starting their own restaurant or enhancing the quality and services of their existing restaurants. Discussions will cover the criteria to be met as quality restaurant, the concept of "green restaurant" and how IT can enhance the overall productivity. For details and registration: http://www.sme.gcn.gov.hk/

The Chamber has been managing race boxes at Happy Valley and Shatin for some years. Due to low usage rate of Happy Valley in last year, we have decided to give up the box there. However, we will continue to operate the Shatin race box at Grand Stand II, 6/F, Box 622. The first race will commence on Sunday, 1 September 2002 at Shatin. We start to accept bookings now. As in past years, we offer 7 seasonal tables and 10 seasonal seats for frequent users at 40% and 50% discounts respectively. If you are interested, please contact our Fandy Lai at 2823-1246.

The Chamber and five other major local business chambers initiated the "One Company One Job" campaign, appealing for Hong Kong companies' support by having each company voluntarily provide at least one 12-month trainee position to a new college graduate or higher diploma recipient. The appeal letter from the Chamber to all its members was faxed out on 29 July. Subsequently, the final version of the vacancy order form together with Chairman's covering letter were sent on 2 August to all members. We hope our members will support the campaign by responding to the appeal. If you have queries on the campaign, please call our Karen Fung at 2823-1240. Interested companies may also download the form from http://www.chamber.org.hk/memberarea/chamber_circular/one_co_one_job.pdf

In complying with security requirements, from 17 July 2002, passengers having baggage to check-in on Cathay to destinations in the USA will not be able to use the in-town check-in services at the Hong Kong and Kowloon Airport Express stations. However, passengers who do not have check-in baggage can still use the in-town check-in services when they travel to the USA.

Held for nine consecutive years, the Community Chest's Dress Causal Day this year will be held on Monday, 30 September. Last year, over 450,000 participants from more than 1,300 organisations, schools and government departments joined effort to raise more than HK$17.6 million under this initiative. If your company is interested in participating and make a donation, please call Miss Winnie Fung (tel: 2599-6127) or Miss Idy Lai (tel: 2599-6136) of the Chest office.

Since 1989, this annual event has been organised by the Selective Placement Division of the Labour Department. The Award for this year is now open for nomination until 31 August. The Presentation Ceremony will take place in November. The Award is to give recognition and appreciation to disabled employees who have demonstrated outstanding performance in employment. The nomination is open to all employers who have engaged disabled employees, including those with visual or hearing impairment, physical or mental handicap, chronic illness as well as the ex-mentally ill. Please call 2852-4803 to obtain nomination forms or download from www.info.gov.hk/labour.  

The Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) will organise a "Putonghua Month" Purchase Discount Programme from September 15 to October 13, 2002. Members are invited to offer 10% or more discount to Putonghua speaking customers and to display the Purchase Discount Programme sticker during the promotion period. The campaign will be promoted extensively through various channels such as lightboxes at MTR and KCR stations. Names of all the participating members will be listed at RTHK websites for customers�� information. Also, members could also download a series of ��One Minute Putonghua�� courses from the RTHK website to learn the basic Putonghua conversation skills for service industry. Interested members please download the reply form from www.rthk.org.hk/download/forms.html and return to RTHK on or before August 7, 2002. For further information, please contact Ms Sandra Wong or Ms Lina Liu of RTHK at 2339-6545.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is constantly striving to give maximum value to its members. Recently, we have revamped our Member Benefits Programme by signing up more than 60 partner merchants to offer special discounts exclusively to HKGCC members. Details of these discounts, which cover a wide range of products and services relevant to your corporate and personal needs, can be found in a separate brochure that we have mailed to members. Or you can visit our Web site: www.chamber.org.hk/member_benefits

For identification purposes, members need to present their membership card or quote their membership number upon the time of purchase or booking. If you need to apply for additional cards for your staff, please contact the Membership Department at 2823 1203 / 2823 1236, or apply on line at the web link above.

The ICAC and the Shanghai Municipal People's Procuratorate have just released a new guidebook, "Ethics in Practice -- A Guide for Businessmen in Shanghai and Hong Kong." The guide highlights major provisions of the anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws of the Mainland and Hong Kong. It also contains practical references for cross-boundary businessmen on how to safeguard their rights and interests under the anti-corruption laws. The guide can be viewed on the Hong Kong Ethics Development Centre Web site (www.icac.org.hk/hkedc) , or call 2587 9812 for more information.

The Young Industrialist Awards of Hong Kong (YIAH) 2002 are now open for nomination. This year will be the 15th year of the awards, a new title ��Industrialist of the Year�� will be introduced to celebrate the event. The YIAH provides an opportunity to identify and give recognition to young industrialists who excel in their fields. The deadline for nomination is 8 August 2002. Please call Ms Connie Lei of FHKI at 2732 3107 or view www.yiah.org to know more about the awards.

As the Chamber Web Site is getting more and more popular amongst international businessmen, we would like to give you some tips on how to benefit from it. For traders, we strongly recommend our "e-catalog" service which allows you to post up to 50 product photos attached to your company web page with the Chamber at a fee of $1,800 per annum. Our e-catalog is the second highest hit page of our site. For service company, our "Corporate News" sector could be most appropriate for you to publicize your corporate newsletter or press releases. The charge is only $100 per issue and you can have a shelf live of six months. If you have product discounts to offer, we can promote it through either our "Member Benefits" page and/or our "Web-Mart". You are encouraged to browse our "Trade Inquiries" daily and to post your own to attract buyers/sellers. If you have a business problem that you want help, try our "Help Wanted" to see if any colleague has a solution. These are just a few examples. If you want to know more of how the Chamber Web site can help you do business, please call our Queenie Poon at 2823 1279.

You may recall the Chamber launched the system back in 18 May. COMIUS allows every member using the password given to access online his/her company record with the Chamber and update the information therein as and when they need to do so. In order to protect your company record, if you had not activated your password on or before 18 June, it would expire. As of 18 June, 596 members activated their passwords making 463 update submissions. For these 596 members, they can continue to use their passwords. For the remaining members, we will send you the information printouts by mail in batches over the next few weeks or so and hope that you will cooperate by updating your company record with us. If you want to save our paper and mailing costs, please call our Sharon Chung at 2823-1203. She will tell you how to obtain a new password to access your company record online.

The Steering Committee on Volunteer Movement of the Social Welfare Department is organizing the above seminar and workshops on 21 June 2002 from 2:15 to 5:30 pm at ETech Forum, 4th Floor, 402-406 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. This seminar and workshops provide a propitious opportunity for the participants to broaden their perspectives and knowledge in corporate volunteering. It offers a solution showcase of how volunteering can help to increase staff��s productivity and devotion during difficult economic situations. Interested parties may register for free by visiting http://www.volunteering-hk.org/popup_07.html   or contact Ms Clara Lam at 2836- 6930 for further details.

Due to overwhelming response, the Trade and Industry Department, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Productivity Council and BOSSible will jointly organize a Cantonese speaking seminar on "Developing Business through Franchising" on Tuesday, 25 June 2002 from 2:30-5:30 pm at the HKPC Building in Kowloon Tong. For details, please call 2398-5736.

The Equal Opportunity Commission will provide a series of workshops from September to November to help employers explore how effective implementation of equal employment opportunity will improve productivity, meet their legal obligations, and reduce the risk of liability. Particular emphasis will be on the related ordinances. Information about the workshops can be obtained by visiting
^{http://www.eoc.org.hk/CE/temp/workshop/index.htm.}

111 pieces of ISO/IEC JTC1 standards in CD-ROM format can now be ordered at Government��s Products Standards Information Bureau at a special fixed price of HK$210 each. The offer is good until 31 December 2002. The 111 standards cover a variety of subjects in the field of IT, including digital data management, storage and transfer, coding of multimedia information, IT security, programming languages, etc. A full list of the standards can be found at www.info.gov.hk/itc/psis . Please call 2829-4820 or email psib@itc.gov.hk for ordering.

Organised by the Sustainable Development Unit of the HKSAR, the Symposium will bring together renowned experts on sustainable development, government officials, Legislative Councilors, and representatives from the business sector and academics to identify priority issues and actions for achieving a sustainable Hong Kong. For details please visit http://www.sdsymposium.org.

The Labour Department has provided us a few hundred copies on the following publications for members to pick up at the Chamber Head Office on a first-come-first-served basis.

(1) Guide to Good People Management Practices (bilingual).
(2) A Practical Guide to Employers' Duties under Labour Legislation (bilingual).
(3) Case Studies on Good People Management (in Chinese only).

If you have queries on good people management, you may call LD's Workplace Consultation Promotion Unit at 2121-8690.

The Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme (YWETS) provides work experience and job-related training of 6-12 months' duration for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 with education attainment below degree level. Throughout the period of employment and training, case managers will provide career counseling and support services to assist the young people under the YWETS. Employers participating in the scheme will have to appoint a mentor to guide the trainees throughout the period of training. The scheme will endorse a monthly training subsidy of HK$2,000 for each trainee engaged during the period of employment and training. Further information and application forms can be obtained by calling us at 2823-1240.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) is now conducting a market testing exercise to obtain information on the market capability and to seek interest in government��s intention to outsource the management, operation and maintenance of the Hong Kong Wetland Park. A briefing session will be held at 3:00 pm on 29 May to help potential bidders understand details of the requirements. For details please contact Mr Edmond Lam of AFCD at tel 2150-6960, fax: 2314-2802 or email: yf_lam@afcd.gov.hk.

Jointly organised by the Trade and Industry Department and 25 trade and industrial organisations, the Mentorship Programme for SMEs aims to provide an opportunity for SME entrepreneurs who are at their early stage of business to learn from and be guided by accomplished entrepreneurs, senior executives, and professionals through one-to-one free counseling during a 9-month period.

Deadline: 3 June 2002. Application forms could be available from the Chamber, the Trade and Industry Department or the Internet at www.sme.gcn.gov.hk. Enquiries: 2398-5133 or email: smeenq@mail.gcn.gov.hk

In 2001, the Labour Department organised the third Good People Management Award to promote, encourage and commend employers in achieving good people management. With 201 participating companies, 19 enterprises, including 8 with employment size 501 and above, 6 with employment size 101 to 500 and 5 with employment size 100 or below, have been granted the award for their commendable performance in human resources management. To commemorate the event, the Labour Department has produced a souvenir publication, in Chinese, to document the successful experience of the 19 winners. This publication is a digest on actual cases which have proven success on sound human resources practices for the reference of employers.

For a free copy, please contact Miss Chu of the Workplace Consultation Promotion Unit of the Labour Department by fax at 2121-8695 or by telephone at 2121-0874.

The Occupational Safety and Health Council is proud to launch the very first ��Hong Kong Occupational Safety & Health Award�� jointly with the Labour Department, HKGCC and other leading organizations to recognize the outstanding achievements of those organizations in sustaining workplace safety and health. ��The Hong Kong OSH Award�� Forum and Award Presentation Ceremony will take place on 10 June 2002. You are welcome to join this event to share the best practices in the industries. Booking forms can be downloaded from this web site: http://www.oshc.org.hk/b5/5-1-1.asp, or contact the Occupational Safety and Health Council at 2739-9377 for details.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board launched the "Hong Kong Must Buy Items" programme on May 8. Ten items were short-listed for a worldwide e-voting from May 8 to 22 to select the final six identified as "signature" HK products to be promoted to tourists. The e-voting is running on www.discoverhongkong.com.   You are encouraged to vote. Please also ask your business associates and friends here and overseas to participate in the e-voting. For further information, please contact Ms Olga Yuen at 2807-6541.

A Chamber member is looking for a translation house specialized in translating Japanese into Cantonese. The original product is an education software. The work involves translation and Cantonese voice over. If you can offer the service, please write to chamber@chamber.org.hk, we will relay your message to the member for further follow up.

The Elderly Commission is organizing the captioned symposium cum exhibition on June 8 at the HKCEC. The event will provide participants with international and local perspectives on how business should reposition themselves for the emerging consumer market of older persons, and how public and private sectors should adapt their HR management practices for a mature workforce. If you want to participate in this free-of-charge event, please call at 2509-3430 or register on-line at www.info.gov.hk/hwb/2002symposium/index.html.

Recently there has been a surge of email scams sending through the Chamber��s internet message relaying platform to our members. The sender is usually an overseas ��senior official�� who claims to know millions of dollars sitting somewhere and asks for your bank account to transfer the money across. This little trick has been playing for decades with slight variation from time to time. As we do not censor emails that relay through our platform, you are urged to take sensible judgement in receiving email messages through our system. You may also wish to visit www.info.gov.hk/police to find out the current scams in town.

At the Chamber's 2002 Annual General Meeting on 30 April, Christopher Cheng, David Eldon, Dr Hari Harilela, Henry Tang and Anthony Wu were re-elected and Stephen Ng was elected as General Committee members.

At the inaugural meeting of the new General Committee immediately after the AGM, Christopher Cheng was re-elected as Chairman of the General Committee, Anthony Nightingale remains as Deputy Chairman, Dr Lily Chiang and David Eldon were both re-elected as Vice-Chairmen. Denis Lee retired after serving on the General Committee for eight years.

The Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) will jointly organize a free function to promote public's awareness on "Waste Reduction" and "Clean Air" on 2 June 2002 (Sunday) from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm at Convention Hall, 2/F, Old Wing, HKCEC. This event will be opened to public free of charge. For further enquiries, please contact Mr Kan Tang or Mr Joe Fung at 2594-6525.

The Hong Kong Airport Security Service Charge has been revised from HK$20 to HK$33 for each passenger as of 7 May 2002. Passengers, including infants, holding air-tickets that are issued on or after 7 May 2002 for departing, arriving or transiting through HK Airport are subject to the revised charge. Airlines and their travel agents are required to collect this charge on behalf of the Airport Authority when issuing tickets and this will be shown on the ticket.

The Transparent Agents and Contracting Entities (TRACE) is organizing a free workshop on 3 June 2002, 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, at the American Club (Exchange Square II) on international anti-corruption issues. Speakers will cover topics of US law, the new English anti-corruption law, the standard promulgated by the OECD and concerns specific to HK and China. If interested, please email to workshop@TRACEinternational.org for registration details.

This is a half-day seminar organized by the HKRSA and supported by the Chamber. The seminar will be held on 4 May morning at the Conrad Hotel. Speakers include Graham Stott, Joseph Wong, Peter Wong and Stuart Leckie. Please call at 2147-0090 for booking.

Since 1989, the Awards has been held yearly to recognize and promote industrial excellence of Hong Kong companies. This year��s Awards scheme comprises seven categories: consumer product design, machinery and equipment design, productivity, quality, environmental performance, export marketing and technological achievement. The deadline for application is 10 May 2002. Please call Wendy Tsang at 2788-5052 for further information.

The Labour Department is launching a new dedicated webpage in May for a wide range of information on employment in the Mainland www.jobs.gov.hk/mainland. This webpage will provide an internet platform for HK employers to recruit local talents to work for their business in the Mainland, and at the same time a focal point for job-seekers interested in taking up employment in the Mainland. Employers who have vacancies to fill may give LD the details online or call 2503-3377 for job posting. The LD��s service is free of charge and provides an additional channel of recruitment. For further details, please call Mr Koo Chiu-shing �]�j�W�����͡^at 2852-3235.

The HKITF and HKPC will jointly organize an IT trade mission to visit Guangzhou and Nanhai on 20 and 21 May. The visit aims to assist IT people to identify software development resources in Guangdong and to exchange views with IT industrists in the Pearl River Delta. Participation fee is HK$1,800 per person, which includes all transports, single room accommodation, meals and insurance. If interested, please call Ms Chan of HKPC at 2788-5870 or email to chanmary@hkpc.org for itinerary and subscription form.

The list of 17 general holidays for 2003 was gazetted on April 12 for public information. General holidays are for banks, schools, public offices and government departments. The list can be found at www.chamber.org.hk/info/feature_event/general_holidays.asp.

The Occupational Safety and Health Branch of the Labour Department has published the captioned Code of Practice in April 2002. You may obtain it free of charge from the Occupational Health Service at 15/F, Harbour Building, 38 Pier Road, Central. (Telephone number 2852-4041). Although failure to observe any provisions of the Code is not itself an offence, that failure may be taken by a court in criminal proceedings as a factor in determining whether or not a person has breached the relevant safety and provisions under the legislation.

The Trade and Industry Department and HKPC is organizing this free seminar, in Cantonese, on May 7 2002 in the afternoon at HKPC Building. Interested members must register before May 2. You may call Mr �i���~ at 2398-5753 or the TID at 2398-5736 for details of the seminar and the registration form.

The Chamber is organizing a luncheon for Mr Gary Anderson, Chairman, President and CEO of Dow Corning Corporation, on April 29 at the Excelsior Hotel. Mr Anderson will share with members the story of his company's transformation from a traditional materials supplier to a materials, services and solutions company. Members should not miss this important luncheon. Please enquire or book the event with our Joe Cheng at 2823-1255.

The above seminar will be held on Wednesday, 24 April from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Shenzhen Wuzhou Guest House (No. 6001 Shennan Road �`�n�j�D6001�����w���]). At least 36 of the largest Shenzhen business will attend the seminar. Mr Prescott Bush Jr and Mr John Hung, both Groups' Special Advisor of Telecom Plus (���Ƕ���) and the Vice Mayor of Shenzhen will speak at the seminar. The audience will be at least 150 and it presents a major opportunity for people who have interests in Shenzhen's development. Members interested in attending the seminar are asked to contact Ms Theresa Chow/Titania Chan of Telecom Plus at 2526-1357/2526-0676.

The Chamber is adding another weekly email alert to serve its members as of today. This is called the "Business Opportunities Alert from HKGCC" sent on every Monday. It contains highlights of our trade inquiries received from overseas, information on incoming trade delegations and other trade matching opportunities. In addition, we offer members who do not browse internet or prefers to receive all the import/export trade inquiries by fax or email a free service on a fortnightly basis. The content will be the same as the listing on the Chamber web site under the icon "Opportunities" but is sent separately by fax or email. If you want this free service, please contact our Rammy Chan at 2823-1248.

The annual meeting of the Hong Kong-Mainland Joint Business Liaison Committee (JBLC) was held on 4 April between chairmen and vice-charimen of CCPIT, HKGCC, HKCMA, HKCGCC and FHKI. HKGCC, being the first Hong Kong Secretariat of the Committee, reported on the secretariat works at the meeting. In the past year, HKGCC referred 14 cases of trade disputes/enquiries to CCPIT, handled about 30 calls per month through the JBLC hotline and hosted the JBLC website (www.hkchinabiz.org.hk) with more than 10,000 hits in 8 months. HKCMA, the second term secretariat, formally took over the secretariat duties as of 4 April for one year. The JBLC continues to serve Hong Kong businessmen in the area of trade disputes and business information of the PRC. Interested members may call JBLC hotline (2112-1227) to know more.

We would like to dispel some misperception that our Chamber has proposed to exclude foreign companies from consideration as "Hong Kong companies" for CEPA purposes. This is absolutely false, since we have always believed that any CEPA definition of "Hong Kong company" must take into account Hong Kong's international character and be in accordance with WTO. Any company, including foreign, which contributes to the local economy with substantive business here, should be able to qualify. And we have told the Hong Kong Government this. Any statement that we wish to exclude foreign companies is totally incongruous with our own membership, tradition, and beliefs. We have championed CEPA, but we are not doing so to the detriment of Hong Kong's international character. We hope this clears up any misunderstanding any of you may have.

The Hong Kong Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Association invites nominations for the award. The objective is to honor distinguished achievements of women in Hong Kong in the two categories: Outstanding Women Professionals Award and Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs Award. Candidates will be judged against the following areas: 1) Professional Excellence, 2) Integrity, 3) Community Service; and 4) Entrepreneurial Spirit. The nomination closes on 3 May 2002. To download nomination form and details of the nominating procedures, please visit www.hkwpea.org   or contact Ms. Jennie Ng at tel: 2969-6332.

The Osaka International Trade Fair Commission will hold the M & IT 2003 from May 21 to 24, 2003 at INTEX Osaka. The show will present machine tools, a future factory with PCs and internet linking to machine tools, control equipment and other devices, as well as related computer hardware and software. If interested in participating, please contact the Commission at tel: 81-6-66121212, fax: 81-6-66128585, email: mit@fair.or.jp , website: www.fair.or.jp.

The SME Training Fund is a Government funding scheme to encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong to provide training relevant to their business operations to their employers and employees. For each successful application, the maximum amount of grant is 50% of the training expenses. The maximum amount of grant that an SME can obtain, on a cumulative basis, for training undertaken by its employers and employees are HK$5,000 and HK$10,000 respectively.

To download application form and details of the application procedures, please visit www.smefund.tid.gov.hk or contact us at tel: 2823-1280.

* Training courses organized by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce are eligible for application of SME Training Fund (subject to the relevancy of respective business operations).

2002 Pay Review Survey

The Employers' Federation, in conjunction with FHKI and the Chamber, conducted a pay review survey earlier. The survey covers 192 companies and 135,641 employees. The survey report is now available for sale to Chamber members at a special rate of HK$760 (non-member rate is HK$1,000). This 39-page report is produced by Watson Wyatt HK. Companies that have participated in the survey shall ignore this notice as they will be offered a free summary of the key findings and the report at a special concessionary rate. To order, please call Ms Jullietta So of EFHK at 2528-1086.

Please pencil in your diary for the 2002 AGM: Tuesday, 30 April 2002, 6:00-7:00 pm at Island Shangri-La Hotel. The following six members of the General Committee will retire and may seek for re-election. They are Mr Christopher Cheng, Mr David Eldon, Dr Hari Harilela, Mr Denis Lee, Mr Henry Tang and Mr Anthony Wu. New nomination for GC election should be delivered to the Chamber no later than Saturday, 6 April 2002. Official Notice of the AGM and the Chamber Annual Report will be sent on 6 April to all members. You are most welcome to attend the AGM and meet with other members. A cocktail reception will be held from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Call Y S Cheung at 2823-1233 on election matters.

Supported by the Innovation and Technology Fund, the HKANA elected five SMEs to participate in deploying e-ID and related enabling technologies throughout a 12-month period last year in these SMEs daily operations. The study was completed on January this year. The five SMEs chosen included two small drugstores, a grocery wholesaler, an electronic component supplier and a wine merchant. Each case was paired with an IT sponsor who provided the necessary software and hardware, technical support and training for the implementation. A report (in English and Chinese) and a VCD (in Chinese) on these cases are now available for members to collect from the Chamber's reception desk on a first-come-first-served basis. Please call Ms Joyce Chau of HKANA at 2863-9762 if you need more information about the studies and e-ID.

The Innovation and Technology Commission is inviting application for the new round of ITF. In addition to the General Support Programme, University-Industry Collaboration Programme and the Small Entrepreneur Research Assistance Programme, there are four solicitation themes, namely: Development and Application of Biosensor Technologies, Advanced Surface Coating Technologies, Applied Genomics and Industrial Application of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems. Application deadline: 30 April 2002. For details: http://www.itf.gov.hk.

At the Government Small and Medium Enterprises Committee's request, the HK Export Credit Insurance Corporation has produced a list of 11 commercial credit information agencies which had agreed to provide local trade and industry associations, as well as individual SMEs, their credit reports on overseas buyers at a preferential rate. For further queries, please call Ms Alison Tsui of ECIC at 2732-9900.

To alert members on what's going on around the globe, the Chamber has revised the International Information page to provide members with latest international hot news and trade information. Members can also access updates on events of Chamber's trade committees through the link to
http://www.chamber.org.hk/info/international/

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department invites artists to submit creative ideas for the open competition of the captioned scheme. Selected entries will be commissioned for production and installation at seven LCSD venues for the appreciation of the public. These venues are: HK Cultural Centre, HK City Hall, Yuen Long Theatre, HK Central Library, Tuen Mun Public Library, Tseung Kwan O Public Library and Fanling Public Library. A tentative date of 6 April is scheduled for site visit arranged by LCSD to the respected venues. If interested, please contact the Public Art Team, APO at 3101-2738 or 3101-2732.

The captioned Ordinance was enacted in January 2000. It provides a clear legal framework so that electronic records and digital signatures have the same legal recognition as that of their paper-based counterparts, thereby promoting and facilitating the development of e-commerce in HK. The Government have committed to review the Ordinance 18 months after its enactment. It now invites public views on the review and encourage the IT industry, various professional bodies and related organizations to give their input by 30 April 2002. Full details about the Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation, and the Consultation Paper on the Review can be found at www.info.gov.hk/itbb.

LegCo approved the captioned Regulation on 28 November 2001. Main provisions are:

The proprietor has the duty to ensure the work in industrial undertakings is only performed by a person 18 years of age or above and holds a valid certificate issued by recognized course provider.

The proprietor has the duty to ensure the provision of recognized training course for such workers.

The employee has the duty to attend such course provided for him.

The employee has the duty to produce his valid certificates for inspection when required.

To allow time for workers to be trained and certified, a grace period of 24 months is provided and provisions (a) and (d) will come into effect at the end of 2003. For more information, please check www.info.gov.hk/labour or call Labour Department at 2559-2297.

The Labour Department has drafted a Code of Practice for Manual Electric Arc Welding for public consultation. It is a 50-page document. It has both English and Chinese version. If interested, call Mr Cheung Wai-sing of the Labour Department at 2852-3096 or obtain copies of the draft from offices of the Occupational Safety and Health Branch. The submission deadline is 8 April 2002.

The Innovation and Technology Commission, in conjunction with RTHK, has produced a five series program on successful technology start-ups. The series, called "Technofrontier", will be broadcast on Cable News 1 at 2030-2100 from 13 March to 10 April every Wednesday, and on TVB Pearl at 1850-1920 from 2 May to 30 May every Thursday.

Do you know the answers to the following questions:

• When are HK and New Zealand going to sign a Free Trade Agreement? 3/08

• I am interested in an electronics and accessories tradeshow held in Hong Kong in May. Please send me the information about the show. 3/07

• Are there restrictions on the import of Chinese garlic oil into the EEC? Does garlic oil have an EINCS number? 2/28

These and many more questions are posted by viewers of the Chamber Web site in the "Business Help Wanted" page. Help them out if you can. Many thanks.

This is the last issue of the Chamber Brief News that is sent by fax. If you are receiving our weekly Chamber Alert by email, then you will automatically receive the Chamber Brief News by email. If not, and you wish to continue receiving Brief News, inform us your name, company name, membership number and email address stating "Add to the email list of Chamber Brief News" by email to chamber@chamber.org.hk.

Following China's formal accession to the World Trade Organization, it is expected that China will speed up the changes of laws and regulations in related to foreign trade and investment. To provide members with the updates, a new sub-page in China's info webpage is created to cover newly revised laws and regulations (in Chinese) from 2001. Interested members pleased bookmark http://www.chamber.org.hk/info/china/laws.asp for details.

Do you know that you can have a web address in the Chamber Directory which serves as your company domain name free of charge? Do you know that you can let the internet world know who you are, what business you do, what product you buy/sell and at the same time allow people to contact you by email (even though you have no email address) free of charge? Do you know you can identify trade opportunities through our trade inquiries system by either reading our published trade leads or posting your own inquiries free of charge? Do you know you can read daily information, that may be crucial to your business, from our "China WTO Corner", "HK Government Releases", "Corporate News" free of charge? Do you know that you can book on-line all Chamber programs with a 10% discount offered for all roundtables?

To know more of our Web services, please visit our site today or call our Steve Luk at 2823-1249 for more details

Marshall Byres, COO of Ernst & Young, and Ian Perkin, Chief Economist of the Chamber, will assess the Budget on March 7 at the Chamber from 10:00 am to 11:30 am, one day after FS delivered his Budget speech to LegCo. Come to listen to two experts' view.

On March 15, 4:00-6:00 pm, Ms Elsie Leung, the Secretary for Justice, will speak exclusively to Chamber members on "Promoting Hong Kong as a Legal Services Center post-China's WTO Entry". This is a rare occasion and seats are limited.

To book, click on our Web site or call Wendy Kwok at 2823-1253 for March 7 and Hazel Liu at 2823-1233 for March 15.

Have you encountered problems from time to time that you wish someone can help you with but don't know whom to turn to? Or, you are willing to lend a helping hand to resolve a problem that you have knowledge of but have never been asked. The Chamber receives calls daily for help, many of them may require just information and many others may provide eventual business opportunities. We have now created a "Business Help Wanted" page on the Chamber Web Site to match questions and answers, to link inquirers with respondents. You are welcome to post questions or replies on-line. The inquirer's identity is protected while the respondent has the choice of posting the answer on the web only or simultaneously informing the inquirer where the reply comes from. The page is an open page for all. The only ground rule is the inquirers must post sensible business help wanted type questions. All buy/sell, seek for agent type questions are housed in another page called "Trade Inquiries". The Chamber reserves the right not to publish any questions/answers submitted. Click on our front page today and enjoy the fellowship it may bring. If you have further queries, please call our Steve Luk at 2823-1249.

TDC plans to publish the "Guide to Hong Kong Licensing Industry" as a marketing tool to promote Hong Kong's licensors, licensing agents and licensees to potential partners. An initial print of 5,000 copies of the Guide will be distributed at selected trade fairs and through TDC's overseas offices. Entry fees will have to be paid. Deadline for application is 20 March. If interested, please contact TDC's Yvonne Li at 2584-4160 or yvonne.ym.li@tdc.org.hk for further information.

As of 1 March 2002, "Chamber Brief News" will be sent by email only. This move is a step in the direction of reducing paper usage at members' fax machines. If you are receiving the "Chamber Alert" weekly, then you are automatically on our emailing list of the "Chamber Brief News". Of course, you may opt out any time you like. If you are not on our emailing list and you wish to receive the "Chamber Brief News", please inform us your name, company name, membership number and email address stating "Add to the email list of Chamber Brief News" by fax to 2527-9843 or email to chamber@chamber.org.hk. Otherwise, visit the Chamber Web Site regularly to see the latest Brief News. We will stop the fax service of Brief News in March.

The Chamber's Women Executives Club (WEC) was established in Q4 2001. It has now its own web page on the Chamber website under "Member Area". You may find the list of WEC members on the login page. Past events' photos can also be viewed. Female employees of our Chamber members are welcome to join WEC on-line.

Another new group is called the Russian Interest Group (RIG) which is attached to the Chamber's Europe Committee. It hopes to assist Hong Kong and Russian companies to find each other and to start doing business with each other, here, in Russia or in China. Visit this page today to learn more. Again, the page is under "Member Area".

Mr Itaru Umezu, Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong, wrote to inform the Chamber that a 5-year multiple-entry visa to Japan will be offered to Hong Kong and some APEC member countries on or after February 15, 2002. This "APEC Business Visa" is for short-term stays in Japan for business purposes under the following requirements:

(a) Applicant must be a HKSAR passport holder or British Overseas National passport holder, or a citizen of Brunei, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia or Papua New Guinea.

(b) Applicant must be a management staff (of a rank higher than director of division) or a member of staff who has worked for more than 3 years with a company that is one of the following types:

(a) HK stock exchange listed or stock exchange listed in other countries,

(b) Government managed,

(c) Maintain constant links with companies listed on the stock exchange of Japan, or

(d) Joint enterprises invested in by companies listed on the stock exchange of Japan, or subsidiary companies or branch offices of those companies.

Please call the Consulate-General of Japan at 2522 1184-8 to enquire further documentary requirements for the application.

The Chamber's Women Executives Club met on January 25 to listen to well-known Hong Kong professionals Alice Chiu�]�������^and Olivia Cheng�]�G�嶮�^shared their experience in managing public and private lives. The photo album of that meeting is now available on our Web Site. Click to view them. If you are a woman executive in any of our member companies, you are welcome to join the WEC and participate in their very interesting programs. Call our Sharon Tudela at 2823-1209 to know more.

Check our "Corporate News" today to see what is happening around you in the business community. This service is unique in Hong Kong that keeps you informed daily on corporate news and information that you can hardly find elsewhere. We attract more than two hundred hits a day on this page alone. Subscription to the service costs you little. If interested, call our Malcolm Ainsworth at 2823-1243

Membership Cocktail Photo Album

Last Thursday, the Chamber Chairman and his General Committee colleagues hosted a Membership Cocktail at the Chamber Conference Room. More than 200 members and guests came to network and mingle. Watson's Wine Cellar, member since 1915, sponsored all the red and white wines served at the cocktail; Air Eagle International Freight, member since 1995, sponsored 36 kilos of fresh salmon; and Nikken's Japanese Food, member since 1995, sponsored soya bean source and wasabi for the fresh salmon. We have uploaded the photos taken at the cocktail. Please come to check them out. May find some nice shots. If you did not have time to come last Thursday, please do make an effort to come to our next Membership Cocktail in three months' time.

The Chamber Web Site provides a special feature called "Corporate News" which is dedicated to promoting news from our member companies. If your company produces newsletters from time to time, you may upload a copy to our site to get new potential clients. If you have press releases about your company, disseminate them through our site will get the attention of more businessmen. The Chamber site is the natural focal point for collating and disseminating corporate news. And the cost for using this service is very little. Please contact our Steve Luk at 2823-1249 for details, or check our front page and go to the "Corporate News" page (formerly called "Hong Kong Newsletters").

In Q4 2001, total labour force in Hong Kong was 3,438,000. Number of unemployed was 210,000, or 6.1% of the labour force. In addition, there were 104,000 people underemployed, or 3% of the labour force. We also experienced -0.7% growth rate of total employment. Number of vacancies as of September 01 was 24,399.

Members may still recall the tremendous success we made on launching the 140th Anniversary Distinguished Speakers Series last year. This year we will continue to line up top-notch speakers from all around the globe to feature in our 2002 Distinguished Speakers Series. The first will be Mr Dai Xiang-long �]�����s���͡^, Governor of the People's Bank of China. He will kick off the Series at a dinner to be held on 18 February. He will talk about what China can do to strengthen international cooperation and help maintain Asia's financial stability. Don't miss this important gathering. Bookings are coming in fast. Please fill in the reply form we faxed to you earlier or submit it through our web site.

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The Trade and Industry Department is operating the Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs (SUCCESS) to provide a comprehensive range of information, advice and facilities at M/F, Trade and Industry Department Tower, 700 Nathan Road, Mongkok (tel: 2398-5133). The Centre aims to help SMEs resolve problems at different stages of their development through partnership with various Government departments, licensing authorities, trade and industry associations, support organizations and professional bodies. You may also click to www.sme.gcn.gov.hk to find out more.

P & O Travel, a member company, offers the following tour packages to Chamber members during the Chinese New Year period. You need to present your HKGCC membership card or HKGCC-BOC credit card at booking of these packages in order to obtain the discounts.

(1) Star Princess 8 Days Fly-cruise Package $13,288
(2) Beijing 5/6 Days Flying Business Class Package $7,498/7,698
(3) Shanghai/Suzhou/Hangzhou 5 Days Flying Business Class Package
    $7,498

For details on the offers and free use of P & O Travel Information Centre, please call P & O Travel hotline 2956-6708/2115-8222.

The Chamber would like to help members to promote their product/service to their fellow members in the most cost-effective way. The only requirement is that the product/service offered to members should be genuinely lower than the ordinary consumer market. For example, oil companies offer 40 cents off each litre of petrol that our members pumped into their cars. If you have a genuine offer, please talk to our Membership Manager, Belinda Chow, at 2823-1262.

We wish you a Happy New Year, and good business in 2002. The Chamber continues to look for ways to provide new business opportunities, useful networking and relevant programs to serve our members. We will also speak out on your behalf to promote the interest of the business community and provide input to Hong Kong's economic development. To fulfil these missions, we need your support to remain as member and to introduce your friends and business partners to join the Chamber. If you have not yet renewed your membership for 2002, please do so at your earliest convenience. If you have contacts that we can follow up for Chamber membership, please let our Belinda Chow know (2823-1262). By the way, click on our web site to see the list of new and exciting programs that we will be providing you in the next few weeks. Do not hesitate to call us at our business hotline at 2823-1236 or 2823-1203 if you have queries.

The Community Chest is organizing a fund-raising event called "Walks for Millions" on Sunday, 3 March 2002. The route will start from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Shatin Race Course and finish at KCRC University Station. The target is to raise HK$4 million to benefit the "Family and Child Welfare Services". For participation, please call Ms Sylvia Kwan at 2599-6151 or Ms May Wong at 2599-6163.

Further to our notice of 13 December 2001 on captioned, please note that foreign nationals, who are Hong Kong permanent residents, may apply for the visa at The Visa Office, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 42 Kennedy Road, Mid-Levels. Telephone enquiry at 2106-6516.

(1) The Information Technology Services Department is organizing a free seminar on "Usability and Accessibility Considerations in Web site Implementation" on 22 January 2002, 2:30-5:30 pm at HKCEC. Registration through email to webmaster@digital21. Enquiry at 2189-2566 Mr John Wu.

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(3)The HK Science and Technology Parks Corp is organizing a free briefing session on 15 January 2002, 2:30-4:00 pm at Tech Centre in Kowloon Tong to inform the public selected high tech projects currently looking for capital investment and technology partner in Hong Kong. Call Mr C W Sung at 2784-2686 or visit www.techworld2002.org for more details.

The Chamber ended its 140th Anniversary celebration with its 8th Annual Business Summit today. The conference was attended by over 200 participants. All the speeches can be heard from the Chamber Web Site. Most speakers spoke from their own experience on what they would expect from China's entry into the WTO. Click on to hear these inspiring talks. You can also read Ian Perkin's speech on the results found from the Chamber's annual business prospects survey. Year 2001 has been quite a difficult year for business. However, the downturn is about to end. We are confident that next year will be a more positive year for business, especially for those companies which are in a position to capitalize China's entry into the WTO. We thank you for your past support and your continuous patronage. To those members who have renewed membership, we thank you most sincerely and remind you to come to collect Chamber souvenirs that we have reserved for you. If you have not yet renewed your Chamber membership, we urge you to do so at your earliest convenience. May we take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2002.

The China official documents, in English, on the WTO accession are now available through the Chamber Web Site. Go to our WTO Corner and we will guide you to the various topics on China's WTO commitments.

From 10 December 2001, foreign nationals who are Hong Kong permanent residents may apply for a three-year multiple visa to China. We believe that this move will strengthen Hong Kong's role as the bridge linking up the international business community with China. The Chamber has been working on this issue for some time and is pleased to see the arrangement has been agreed by the governments of Hong Kong and the Mainland.

The three schemes, namely the SME Business Installations and Equipment Loan Guarantee Scheme, the SME Export Marketing Fund and the SME Development Fund, will start accepting applications on December 14, 2001. A fourth funding scheme, the SME Training Fund, will start accepting application in mid-January 2002. We are organizing a roundtable on January 9, 2002 to explain to members how to apply for these schemes. Check the information on our Web Site.

The Chamber is happy to announce the appointment of Belinda Chow as our new Membership Manager. Belinda will take up the important tasks of managing our membership department, expanding the marketing capability of the recruiting and renewal process, and to act as a bridge between members and the Chamber in order to ensure that members will be given the best value out of their membership. Belinda was formerly employed with PCCW, Chase Manhattan Bank and other major banks where she held positions in the marketing area. Members are welcome to contact Belinda at tel: 2823-1262 should you need any information regarding your membership.

Census and Statistics Department has newly published the following books:

- Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics 2001 Edition $68/copy
- Statistical Digest of the Services Sector 2001 Edition $76/copy
- Hong Kong 2001 Population Census Summary Results $38/copy
- 2001 Report of Salaries and Employee Benefits Statistics $20/copy

You may purchase these publications at Government Publications Centre, Ground Floor, Low Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong (tel: 2537-1910); or Publications Unit of the Census and Statistics Department, 19th Floor, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong (tel: 2582-3025); or download the order form from www.info.gov.hk/censtatd/eng/service_desk/forms_index.html.

The Chamber's 8th Annual Business Summit is the last of its kind in Hong Kong this year to wrap up how we have been doing in the year and to give an early forecast of what lies ahead in 2002. More importantly, business leaders will also speak of their minds on the impact that China��s WTO entry is expected to have on us. Participation fee is set at $750 for this half-day high power Seminar, including lunch. To help promote the Internet Week (10-16 December), we offer 10% discount for members who book the Business Summit online. Please act now. Further queries may be directed to our Jodi Cheng at 2823-1227.

You may be aware that 2001 marks the 140th Anniversary of the Chamber. As a token of appreciation to your support of the Chamber, we will provide you some souvenirs upon your renewal of membership. To those members who renewed for one year, you may wish to collect a mousepad with a built-in calculator from the Chamber Head Office. To those who renewed for three years, not only you will get a 10% discount on the membership dues (provided you pay before 31 January 2002), you will get a mousepad with a built-in calculator AND a Chamber umbrella. The souvenirs all come with the new Chamber logo. Moreover, we do have a small quantity of Chamber souvenirs with the old logo, such as T-shirt, tie, cardholder, key ring, coaster, etc. These are of limited stocks and will be given away on a first-come-first-served basis, and each member may get at most one item from the old stocks. To collect, simply present the original redemption letter that we are going to send you to the Reception Desk of the Chamber Head Office during business hours. Please renew early to avoid disappointment. If you have queries, please call our Membership at 2823-1203.

The Chamber, in conjunction with several trade association, IT industry organizations and government, will launch the Internet Week from 10 to 16 December 2001. The Week is part of the e-adoption campaign to increase the competitiveness of Hong Kong by promoting the usage of e-commerce by business and consumers. To support the Week, the Chamber is offering 10-100% discount for anyone who uses the Chamber's Web site to book products or services online. Click to our site to know more. Other discounts offered during that week by other businesses can be found in www.tryitonline.com.hk . Make an effort to go on line during that week to experience what can be done using the Internet as a tool and enjoy all the advantages it can offer. Merchants who want to offer discounts during that week may go to www.tryitonline.com.hk/en/adv.html   for details.

The Membership Committee recommended to the Chamber that the member rate for Chamber roundtables in 2002 should be reduced from $120 to $100, while at the same time, non-member rate should be increased from $170 to $200. Roundtable is a very popular product of the Chamber and is always well attended. In order to give more benefits to member, we thought it appropriate for members to enjoy a lower rate and non-members pay a higher rate. We hope you will support this move and encourage your staff to attend our roundtables and equip themselves as knowledge workers.

This year, the Chamber's Business Summit will be held on Thursday, 13 December 2001 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre from 9:00 am to 12:15 pm. Speakers will include Antony Leung, Annie Wu, Fu Yuning, Denis Simon, Ian Perkin, Christopher Cheng, Anthony Nightingale, Lily Chiang, David Eldon, Victor Li, Anthony Wu, K K Yeung and William Fung. Details of the program was mailed to you in the last two days. As always, Chamber's events are all value for money ($750 only including lunch). Please book now to hear Hong Kong business leaders' view on the outlook and impact that China��s WTO entry is expected to have on us. Ian Perkin will also announce the results of the Chamber��s Business Prospects Survey at the Summit. Call our Jodi Cheng at 2823-1227 for further detail. You may also check our web site and book the event on-line.

Cleaner production principle has prevailed internationally as an effective method to improve operational efficiency and reduce pollution in industries, but its application in Hong Kong seems to be confined to large enterprises presently. The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Productivity Council had completed a 2-year project to promote the concept of cleaner production to SMEs through the guidance of four mentor firms. Under their partnership, the supply chains are organised to work together to achieve certain cleaner production goals common to each other. A CD-ROM and a webpage (http://www.chamber.org.hk/eisc) containing the value-added supply chain model for cleaner production and success stories of companies are produced for demonstration and encouraging widespread implementation of such model. For further queries, please call our Thinex Shek at 2823-1270.

The Innovation & Technology Commission will organize a talk on Innovation & Technology Fund (ITF) and Applied Research Fund (ARF) from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm on 23 November at Room 201B, Phase II of the Convention Centre (HKCEC). Audience will be briefed on the Government funding available under the ITF and ARF for applied R&D activities and related market development. Free admission on a first-come-first-served basis. No registration required.

As China joins the WTO, a special supplement, written by the Trade and Industry Department in collaboration with the TDC, is made available for members to collect from the Chamber Head Office. The supplement outlines some of the most significant implications arising, as well as compares the existing business environment in the Mainland with the future market access conditions. Limited copies in Chinese and English available for collection at the Chamber on a first-come-first-served basis. If interested, you may read it from www.info.gov.hk/tid/e-index.htm.

Last Friday, Government announced the extension of operating hours at border crossing. Main points are as from 1 December 2001: (1) Passenger clearance at Lo Wu will be extended from 0630 to 2330 to 0630 to 2400 every day. (2) Passenger and private car clearance at Lok Ma Chau will be extended from 0700 to 2200 to 0630 to 2400 daily. (3) Goods traffic clearance will be extended from 2200 to 2400 and three more southbound lanes and one more northbound lane will be opened 24 hours. A Chamber press release on the issue can be found in our web site.

Last Saturday, the WTO approved China's accession. This is a significant development and will have far-reaching effect on Hong Kong's business. Again the Chamber's press release can be found in our web site. Members may obtain up-to-date information and business opportunities related to China's WTO entry in the site's "China WTO Corner". Check it out everyday to see what's new.

Moreover, the upcoming Business Summit organized by the Chamber on 13 December will give you a most current view on the issue. Please mark your diary and make an effort to join the various programs we provide on China's WTO entry. Call our Agnes Lau at 2823-1278 to know more.

We hope by now you have seen the new design of the Chamber's Membership On-line Directory. To those member companies who have provided us their Primary Company Representative's photos or Business Contact Person's photos, they may find them appeared prominently by random selection on the Directory Pages. If you have product photos, not only we can provide a powerful e-catalog for potential buyers to search your products by keywords, we also actively promote your products in our Sample Room. The two services are either free of charge or at very low cost. Call our Queenie Poon at 2823-1279 to have yours put on-line.

The survey was faxed to members over the period October 19 to 21. Over 300 completed surveys are being returned to the Chamber. Because of the present business and economic uncertainties, our Chief Economist, Mr Ian Perkin, wants to make this the biggest and most representative survey to-date. As you know, the result of the survey will be first announced at the upcoming Annual Business Summit on December 13, 2001, your support of returning the survey will add the much needed weight to our report about the economic and business outlook. If you have not yet returned the survey, please do it now and fax back to us before November 16. Copies of the survey can be downloaded from our web site: www.chamber.org.hk/memberarea/chamber_circular/index.asp or simply call our Ms Wendy Kwok on 2823-1253. Many thanks for your assistance.

The Chamber launched on November 1 its newly designed "Directory" section of its Web site, which gives member companies -- and their products / services -- greater exposure to potential customers.

The main features of the new design are a "Member Spotlight," which carries photos of companies' chiefs, and members are encouraged to send in a photo of their company head to be included in the "Member Spotlight" free of charge. We also have a "Sample Room," displaying companies' products. For a minimal fee, we allow companies to build an e-Catalog on the Chamber's Web site, containing photos and product descriptions of products. The "dynamic scripting" on the page means sample images are constantly refreshed, which means your samples will regularly appear on the Directory page and might just catch the eye of a buyer.

Other features include "The Chamber's Oldest Members," which introduces companies who joined the Chamber before 1961, as well as introductions to companies in "Member Profile."

Click to the Chamber Web Site today to find out how we work to generate business opportunities for our members.

The front-page of the Chamber web site has changed its look since last Monday. The new design allows viewers to get up-to-date information on "China's WTO Corner" and the (almost) daily renewed "Chamber in Action". Moreover, the drop down menu provides a more systematic way to guide viewers to the right pages. If you have not visited the web site lately, we recommend you to do so. Opportunities may knock. Information may help. In the time of harsh business environment, it will be more important for you to know how to use the Chamber web site to your benefit. After all, the site is built for members and most services are provided free. If you have suggestions in the services of the site, please let us know by emailing to chamber@chamber.org.hk.

The 2002 HKMA Quality Award has just been launched. It will be its 11th anniversary. The purpose of the award is not just to reward commitment to quality management, but also to bring public recognition of achievers. Applicants from the fields of service, manufacturing and small business, whose principal activities are in Hong Kong, are eligible to apply for the award. Initial submission form should return to The HK Management Association by Friday, 9 November 2001. For enquiries, please contact Ms Victoria Lo at 2774-8528 or Ms Helen Li at 2774-8547.

Over the past eleven years, the Hong Kong Business Awards have acknowledged individuals and companies who have contributed substantially to the economic stability and business reputation of Hong Kong. This year, the presentation black tie dinner will take place on Thursday, December 6 at JW Marriott Hotel. An internationally recognized speaker, Mr Dale Irvin will give an address during the evening. The Organizing Committee would like to invite members to host tables at the event. Each table of 10 will cost HK$15,000. If interested, please call Ms Kathy Chan of Professional Public Relations at Tel: 3111-9923 for booking.

HK United Dockyards Ltd, a Chamber member, has established a Government designated Vehicle Emission Testing Centre for diesel vehicles weight (GVW) over 5.5 tonnes. By 2002, smoke tests for such vehicles will be carried out on an approved chassis dynamometer by law. This member company is willing to offer a free testing service from now till end of the year for our members�� fleet. Please contact Dr Raymond Yuen of HK United Dockyards at 2431-2616 or 2582-9562 (fax), ves@hud.com.hk to make an immediate trial booking. The facility is located at Tsing Yi (C).

For members to have a feel of how the Chamber provides timely information and valuable networking opportunities, following is an account of the major activities we organized in just the last two days.

On Monday: (1) 0900-1700. 50 Mainland officials and businessmen from the Western China came to attend a one-week training course organized by the Chamber. In the evening, another 50 members and guests came to a dinner reception to meet with them for networking. (2) 1230-1400. Close to 500 senior businessmen came to listen to Sir John Bond's speech under the auspices of the Chamber's 140 Anniversary Distinguished Speakers Series. (3) 1800-2000. 19 Consuls General from the Asian and African countries came to a cocktail reception hosted by the Chamber to meet with 60 members interested in trade and investment opportunities in these countries.

On Tuesday: (1) 1230-1400. More than 130 people squeezed into the Chamber Theatre to listen to three experts on Office Security and Terrorism. The roundtable was organized within one week and the response was overwhelming. (2) 1800-2000. 120 members came (through 270 registered) to the first Quarterly Members Cocktail hosted by the Chamber Chairman, Mr Christopher Cheng, and some of his GC colleagues. The event promoted fellowship amongst members and enhanced dialogs between members and the Chamber leaders.

If you missed these events and would like to hear the important speeches, go to our Web Site and listen to the sound clips under "Chamber in Action".

A damaging new computer worm was spreading like wildfire across the Internet on Wednesday, hitting both home users and businesses in an outbreak that could prove more widespread and costly than the Code Red viruses. Known as "Nimda" the worm spreads by sending infected e-mails and through affected Web sites, making it a more malicious and versatile virus than earlier Internet threats. The mass-mailing worm arrives in e-mail without a subject line and containing an attachment titled ��readme.exe�� that is disguised as a harmless audio file. It first appeared in the United States on Tuesday and was spreadingrapidly in Japan and the rest of Asia. For more info, please visit
http://www.hongkongcert.org/valert/vinfo/w32.nimda.a@mm.html

The recent terrorist attack in the United States has triggered many owners of high rise building offices to rethink their security procedures and crisis management in order to protect their employees. The Chamber has invited two very qualified speakers to exchange views with members on Tuesday, 25 September, at the Chamber on the ways to educate staff in case of catastrophe and to provide practical guideline for security procedures to minimize damage. Company Chief and HR people are encouraged to come. Go to the Chamber Web Site under "Event" for booking or call our Ms Celia Lo at 2823-1247.

Click onto it now. On the front page, you will find our "China WTO Corner" which keeps you up-to-date on what's happening in China's WTO opportunities; the "Chamber in Action" brings you to the actual event scene and you can listen to all the speeches; the "Member Profile" tells you the story of a very successful member Tom Lee, which is a well-known household name in retailing of musical instruments in Hong Kong. Moreover, our "HK Newsletters" is helping members to publish their corporate news and to spread up-to-date business intelligence to a wider audience. The e-catalog received the first submission by our member Fairform Manufacturing Co Ltd, a public listed company producing showers and bathroom accessories, electronic products, home appliance, office equipment and more. The site is doing more and more for members, and hopefully will help to bring in more business for them. Talk to us and see in what way we can be of assistance to you. Call our Steve Luk at 2823-1249.

The HK IT Skills Assessment Centre was established in July 2001 and is managed by the VTC. It aims to provide recognized skill-based assessment and certificate to the IT practitioners with reference to a well defined progression ladder in their pursuit of different levels of IT skills recognition. To know more, please visit www.hkitsac.org or call 2919-1464.


** We faxed out yesterday Chamber's Pay Guideline 2002 to your company. We will mail it again on next Monday. You may also view it from our Site's Front Page.

We are delighted to report to you that members have responded positively to our call for publishing corporate newsletters on the Chamber Web Site. Within a week, we got Trade Card on e-business (28/8), Towry Law on investment outlook (30/8), Stevenson, Wong & Co on Chinese Domain Names (3/9) and HK Domain Name (3/9), Horwath on listing on GEM (4/9), and Panalpina China on its half-year results. We also use email alert to promote these corporate newsletters to Chamber clients. This page is getting momentum and could be a focal point in future for corporate news. Click on it today www.chamber.org.hk/hknewsletters to see if you find it interesting to read or to add your company's newsletter to it.

It appears all but certain that China will join the WTO in November this year. The Chamber has invited back the various working groups that we formed in May 1999 to revisit the issues confronted by the sectors that would feel the impact most. In these workshop series, speakers will discuss on any new thinking and will help members to get a deeper up-to-date insight into the development of various business sectors in China. They will assist members to capitalize on business opportunities expected to arise from China's WTO entry. The first workshop will be held on 11 September and the topic will be on banking. The event is fully booked. The second workshop on insurance will be held on 18 September. Book early to avoid disappointment, please. 7 more workshops to follow. Click onto our "China WTO Corner" to find out more.

Members are reminded to be cautious when approached by people with doubtful motive in their commercial endeavours. One classical example is the story of a huge sum of money sitting somewhere in Africa waiting to be transmitted. All you need is to give away your account number and signature and you will be guaranteed to earn a handsome profit. The offer is usually come from a prince, a son of a general, or a son of a central banker. Nowadays, they even use the Chamber emailing system to disseminate such offer. Another case picked up by the Hong Kong Police is the so called "Tin Sin Kuk" whereby a trader may be lured to believe in meeting a very important investor from the Mainland. While waiting for the investor to come, a card game is proposed. The trader loses a huge sum and the promised investor never shows up.

Please alert to such fraud or deceptive behaviour. You may wish to contact Mr Tang Wai-Keung, Officer-in-charge, Regional Crime Unit 1A, the Police Force of HK Island, at 2859-8561 or mobile 9339-3191, if you come across a "Tin Sin Kuk". As for the African money, simply forget it.

General Holidays are for banks, schools, public offices and government departments. There will be 17 general holidays for 2002, apart from Sundays. If you want to know the list of dates, please click to our site's "Information" page, go down to the bottom of the right-hand manual bar and you will find it.

Our aim is to help members use the Internet in a most cost-effective manner. Why not leverage on HKGCC's reputation and long-standing to rest assure that the information about your company on the Chamber Web Site are credible and attractive to read. Recently, we have developed three new services. (1) e-Catalog: this is for traders and manufacturers to showcase their product photos. You can build your e-showroom at as low as HK$1,800 per annum with unlimited times of changing your product photos and descriptions. (2) HK Newsletters: this is for service companies to publish their newsletters on our site. As the Chamber is a focal point for business information, the chance of your newsletter read by more potential customers is so much greater. Moreover, we will publicize the headline of your newsletter through our regular fax/email alerts to our customers. All these cost you only HK$100 per issue for a hosting of six months. (3) e-Commerce consultation: this is a newly created posting of Request for Proposal by members who need assistance from IT specialist. SME members are particularly welcome to post their queries on IT issues they encountered. Any IT firms that wish to respond to the requests are welcome to do so. Good business may arise from this source. Click to our "Member Area" to find out more. If interested, please contact us at 2823-1279 for further queries. (Please watch out for this week's mailing, there is a flyer on tips in handling computer virus).

Microsoft's offer to SME on software discounts in March/April was welcome by members. We are going to re-run it from 3 September to 26 October. The full list of products and discounted prices can be viewed from http://www.chamber.org.hk/about_the_chamber/services.asp Member company with 300 PCs or less will be eligible for the discount. Please call the Chamber at 2823-1203 to get the form of purchase. Microsoft will also organize a customized free seminar for members in Cantonese on 26 September on effective software selection and software assets management. If interested, please call Ms Shirley Ma at 2806-2208 for details and registration.

We have finally developed the Chamber e-Catalog for members to publicize their product photos on Chamber's Business Portal at a small fee. For about HK$5 a day, you will be able to publish up to 50 photos with product description attached to your company's homepage within the Chamber e-Business Directory. The search engine that we have developed together with E1 Media Technology Ltd will enable viewers to use keyword search to find your product photos and to email you if product identified. Moreover, you are allowed to change the product photos and descriptions as often as you like at no costs. This is particularly useful for members selling fashionable or seasonal goods. You will find the details of our offer in next week's mailing. In the meantime, you may call our Miss Queenie Poon at 2823-1279 to learn how to benefit from our e-Catalog.

The 36th Hong Kong Products Expo will be held from December 15, 2001 to January 7, 2002 at Tamar Site. The Chamber is one of the co-organizers. Last year the Expo attracted 1.2 million visitors and showcased 680 booths. Members interested in exhibiting products in the Expo may contact the organizer, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, at 2542-8671 or the event manager at 2561-5566. Participation fees for each standard booth range from $24,000 to $32,000. Deadline for participation is October 1.

We have a race box each at Happy Valley and Shatin for members to use. For the upcoming season 2/9/2001 to 16/6/2002, we offer 40% off for a seasonal table of 4 at Shatin (Grandstand II Box E61) plus one free car-park label. The package includes box admission fee, buffet and soft drinks. For individual's seasonal booking, we offer 50% discount at Shatin and 30% off at Happy Valley (Members Stand III Box D604). Casual race meeting participants are also welcome at $340 (Shatin) and $360 (Happy Valley) per meeting. Generous discounts will offer to bookings of 4 or more seats per meeting. Please contact us at 2823-1205/ 2823-1246 for booking. Our race boxes are well located and good for members to entertain business partners and guests.

The Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review will bring together world leaders, far-sighted thinkers and senior business people to explore the trends that will shape the business environment in the region and the world over the next 25 years. The Asian's Future Summit, to be held on 10-11 September at the Grand Hyatt, will focus on strategic issues such as geopolitics, scientific advances, societal shifts, as well as on opportunities for businesses - looking at how companies can capitalize on such trends. Confirmed keynote speakers include:

• Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi;
• Founder & President of the Institute of Molecular Sciences in Berkeley Dr Sydney Brenner;
• Sun Microsystems Chief Researcher John Gage;
• China Construction Bank President Wang Xuebing;
• The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd Chairman David Eldon;
• United Nations Population Division Director Joseph Chamie; and
• NTT DoCoMo, Inc Chairman Kouji Ohboshi

and many other industry leaders participating on panels.
Registration fee is HK$11,660 per person. Please visit www.djconferences.dj.com or tel: (852) 2508-4466 for detail. To register, please call (852) 2852-2311 or fax: (852) 2547-9528.

We have received members' request on knowing how to prevent computer virus infecting their office computers. The first step is of course to keep updated on computer virus. The Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (HKCERT) provides a central contact point on computer and network security incidents. Its web site - www.hongkongcert.org - keeps viewers alert of computer virus and security problems. It also provides a free bi-weekly email alert service on virus and security information at no costs. Please visit the site and subscribe to the email service on-line, if interested.

We would like to revive the information product called "HK Newsletters" in the Chamber Web Site. We need your support. It works like this. Many of our members produce informative and up-to-date newsletters for their clients. The Chamber offers to collect these newsletters and put them in one central place called "HK Newsletters". The cluster effect will help create attention and attract new customers to your service. The software developed by us will facilitate you to upload the soft copy of your newsletter to the Chamber Web Site. For a small handling charge of $100 per issue, we will host the newsletter for six months and promote its presence through off-line and on-line means. As you have put in so much effort in producing your newsletter, a small additional fee will take you so much further and hopefully help to identify new clients for you. The Chamber Web Site is a very good source of information for viewers who want to know Hong Kong business better. Your participation in the "HK Newsletters" initiative will help you capture a wider and new readership for your newsletter. Your additional work is very minimal. If interested, please discuss with our Steve Luk at 2823-1249.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced on 1 August 2001 the introduction of a new top-level domain - .name - for individuals to register. It is expected that the Global Name Registry (GNR) will open the registration process in late August. Registration will be accepted by any of dozens of ICANN - accredited registrars located worldwide. In September, they will be submitted to the GNR which will then conduct a randomized selection process among multiple submissions of the same name. It is scheduled to come into use throughout the Internet around 1 November. For further details, please visit www.icann.org, or www.gnr.com.

To promote and benchmark employers in achieving good people management, the Labour Department has launched the award since 1999. Good people management mainly refers to management practices which are employee oriented, law abiding as well as equal and fair. There will be a total of 15 awards for the three different sizes of employment (above 500, 101 to 500 and 100 or less). Application deadline is 10 September 2001. Please visit www.info.gov.hk/labour for details or contact Ms Eva Wong on 2121-8690.

China's 15-year quest to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) appears to be drawing to a close with its entry into the world trade club expected to come no later than early next year. To help SMEs capitalize on business opportunities expected to arise with China's entry, the Chamber has launched "China WTO Corner", a new section of our Web site, to provide members with the latest information, opportunities and programs on China's accession into the WTO.

The Web site also provides a forum for members to raise questions and to share experiences and views in an open platform. Visit our Web site today at www.chamber.org.hk/wto, and take advantage of this valuable tool designed to help you do business in China after China enters the WTO.

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, spoke to 580 Chamber members last Friday at one of the luncheons of the Chamber��s 140 Anniversary Distinguished Speakers Series. For those members who would like to read or listen to the speech and the following Q & A, please click to the Chamber Web site for the full sound clip and speech text. You may find the link in "Chamber in Action" of the front page.

A special Help Desk has been created under Invest Hong Kong (HKSAR) to assist foreign companies whose overseas executives are experiencing difficulty in finding suitable school places for their children in Hong Kong. Eligibility: (a) Company must be overseas based, or the local subsidiary of such company; (b) executive must be from overseas; (c) children must have a justifiable case for international schooling. InvestHK will work with Education Department and the schools concerned to try to place the children as far as possible in the schools of their choice. The scheme will operate for the 2001/02 academic year. The need for it for subsequent years will be reviewed in due course. Contact details: Ms Mimi Lam, Investor Relations Manager of InvestHK at 3107-1016 or fax: 3107-9007 or email mlam@investhk.gov.hk.

The LegCo passed the Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance 2001 in June. What it says now is that anyone knowingly possesses an infringing copy of computer software, a movie, a television drama or music recording for the purpose of or in the course of any trade or business may be criminally liable. However, the use of parallel-imported computer software in business is not a criminal offence. To help business to better understand the Ordinance, the Government has produced a frequently asked questions document which can be found at www.info.gov.hk/cib/ (under Intellectual Property Protection-News). As the Ordinance is only an interim measure, it will lapse on 31 July 2002. The Government will formulate detailed proposals after public consultation in autumn this year. They will then make further amendments to the law as necessary. We recommend members to download the document and study the content of it.

APEC Leaders and Ministers at their meetings last November in Brunei endorsed the proposal to set up a Chemical Dialogue for exchanging views between private sector chemical industry representatives and government officials. Issues to be discussed include non-tariff measures, trade facilitation and technical cooperation. The HKSAR Government is inviting interested members to participate in the Dialogue. Please download more information at
http://www.chamber.org.hk/itc/download/APEC_chemical.zip for further information.

The use and protection of the National Flag and National Emblem of the PRC, and the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem of the HKSAR are regulated by legislation in HK. A booklet is printed to give a brief introduction to the designs and the proper use of the flags and emblems. If there are occasions that you may use the flags and emblems in your business endeavours, you may wish to take note of the guidelines stated in the booklet. We have a small quantity of the booklet available at the Chamber's Head Office reception desk for collection. More details can be found at www.info.gov.hk/protocol.

The Programme is to assist job-seekers aged over 40 to secure sustainable employment. Employers may obtain full-scale support from the Labour Department including a training subsidy of HK$2,800 for each target job-seeker employed, a training kit and counselling service to the engaged employees. Please call 2150-6398 or browse www.jobs.gov.hk for further information.

In the recent Membership Survey, information is ranked the most valued service of the Chamber, and amongst all the information services, our monthly magazine �V the Bulletin �V is ranked the most liked product. Members may be pleased to know that the Bulletin now has an on-line version, in both English and Chinese, which is available ahead of the printed version. The on-line Bulletin is very well designed and a pleasure to read. Moreover, the on-line Bulletin provides a search engine that allows viewers to retrieve back issues. We hope you will enjoy the on-line Bulletin as much as the printed one. For queries, please call our Managing Editor Mr Malcolm Ainsworth at 2823-1243.

The Award is organized by the Selective Placement Division of the Labour Department since 1989. It is aimed at giving recognition and appreciation to disabled employees who have overcome their physical or mental handicaps through their perseverance and hard-work and excelled in their respective positions. If you are an employer employing disabled employees who have demonstrated outstanding performance at work, you are invited to nominate the employees for the Award. Deadline for nomination is 31 August 2001. Please call Labour Department at 2852-4803 for the nomination forms and details of the Award. The forms are also available at www.info.gov.hk/labour.

We recommend members to participate in the two upcoming events: (1) SME Town Hall Session, July 24, 6:30 pm �V 8:00 pm. Meet our LegCo Representative, the Hon James Tien, face to face to discuss issues of your concern. The session will be in Cantonese. Free refreshment available. (2) How to use the Chamber Web site to benefit your business (in English), July 23, 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm. Dr Y S Cheung will tell you how to benefit from the Chamber web service without paying and get results. Free sandwich lunch will be provided. For booking of the Town Hall Meeting, please call our Karen Au at 2823-1200; for the web talk, call our Shirley Tong at 2823-1208. Otherwise, book through our web site.

The Government Small and Medium Enterprises Committee presented a report to the Chief Executive yesterday on recommendations to support and facilitate the long term development of the SMEs in Hong Kong. The report is now available for collection by members at the Chamber Head Office. Both English and Chinese versions are available, free of charge.

The Chamber and the Association of English Medium Secondary Schools are pleased to launch a Pilot Program this summer to promote the use of English in the workplace among our younger generations. The Program has two schemes. The first is to involve a visit/talk by a senior business executive to a school to speak; or to invite a group of students to visit a company. The second involves student internship at selected companies for around a workweek during the summer holidays. Details of the Program will be in the next Chamber mailing. If interested to participate in the Program, you have to fill in a form enclosed in the mailing. For further queries, please call us at 2823-1240.

324 members responded to the Membership Survey by the deadline of June 20. Thank you. Some interesting results can be drawn from the preliminary analysis. A more detailed report will be published in a future Bulletin issue for members�� reference. Preliminary findings include (1) Members viewed information as the most valued service of the Chamber. They like our Bulletin, our economic analysis and our web site. (2) Over 70% of members ranked the Chamber above the average of trade associations in Hong Kong while 68% of respondents have membership other than the Chamber. (3) The professionalism and the service attitude of the staff came under high praise. (4) However, members criticized the Chamber not very good in providing specific business problem assistance. (5) Members felt that we do not do enough to help the SMEs and there was a lack of sense of belonging or fellowship in the Chamber.

Once the survey is completely analyzed, we will develop more specific ways to improve the Chamber. In the meantime, if you have other comments, please let our Membership Manager, Daisy Lo, know at 2823-1262.

The WSC is the foremost international forum to bring together high-level national and international leaders from the business sector, government, academia, regulatory bodies, and the media to address the key economic and policy issues confronting the global services economy. Aside from the challenges expected to arise from China��s accession to the WTO, other issues to be discussed include the effects of globalization and the growth and impact of the new economy. Special discount will be offered to participants registered before 31 July 2001. For details: http://www.chamber.org.hk/wsc.

The aim of the Awards is to honour outstanding industrialists for their achievements and commitment to manufacturing industry and to encourage them to further contribute their expertise to the economic development of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Industrialists who are between 21 and 45 years of age are eligible for nomination. Please contact the Federation of Hong Kong Industries at tel: 2732-3103/2732-3107 for further details.

Per information provided by the Employer's Federation of Hong Kong, during the last three months (March �V May 2001), the total labour force in Hong Kong is 3,448,000, the unemployment rate is 4.6%, the number of unemployed is 156,000, the under-employment rate is 2.4% and the number of under-employed is 81,000. Moreover, the growth rate of total labour supply is 2.2% while the growth rate of total employment is 2.7%. Total vacancies in Q4 2000 is 27,300.

Since we mailed out the survey last week, we have received over 120 replies. Thank you for those who had responded. The replies are extremely helpful for the Chamber to assess its services to members. However, in order to make the survey statistically meaningful, we need a few hundreds more replies. Would you make an effort to do it today, please? If you cannot find the mailed copy, let us know at tel: 2823-1236, fax 2527-9843 or email membership@chamber.org.hk, we will fax you the survey copy. Your help would be highly appreciated.

Our Chamber LegCo Representative, The Hon James Tien, moved a motion on May 30 on "Attracting eligible persons from the Mainland to invest and spend money in Hong Kong". It urged to introduce, in addition to the existing One Way Permit System which is mainly for family reunion, a point system for admitting eligible persons from the Mainland to invest and take up residence in Hong Kong. It also asked the Government to relax entry restrictions on Mainland visitors to facilitate them coming to HK to travel and spend money. The motion was passed by LegCo. It is interesting to see how Government take this issue forward.

HKGCC, in conjunction with three other organizations, is hosting seminars on "Green Practices for HK Business" on July 4 (pm, English), July 6 (pm, Cantonese) and July 11 (pm, Cantonese) at the HK Productivity Council, Kowloon Tong. At the seminars, Green Office Award, Green Construction Contractor Award and Green Property Management Award will be introduced along with the Government's Wastewi$e Scheme. The seminars are free of charge and all Chamber members are welcome. Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis. The deadline is June 26. Call HKPC at 2788-5625 or email eco-b@hkpc.org for forms and details.

One of the Awards for Services is on innovation. The Innovation Award is organized by the Chamber. The aim is to promote innovative culture and creativity among HK companies. The Award is a recognition of excellence and it is a good way of advertising and marketing for the winning companies. To help members better understand how to compete in the Award, a free briefing luncheon is organized on 20 June 2001 at 12:30 pm at the Chamber. Whether you decide to participate in the contest or not, you are most welcome to join the luncheon to listen to success stories of past winners. You may benefit from a self-assessment and from associating with top-quality firms in the service sector. If interested, call our Thinex Shek at 2823-1270 to reserve a seat.

The Chamber has lowered its forecast growth rate for the local economy to 2.8% for the current year from the original 4.8% predicted in December last year. The revised forecast reflects the slower growth in US, the slow down in exports and imports of goods and the trade deficit widening from last year. The Chamber's forecast for CPI also has been lowered to 0% from 1%. However, the SAR has two important factors in its favour: the continued good economic growth in China and the lowering of interest rates that has occurred so far this year. Please call on Chief Economist, Mr Ian Perkin, at 2823-1242 if you have queries.

The Bill, gazetted on 25 May, proposes to amend the Employment Ordinance to make clear that an employer may offset severance payment and long service payment payable to an employee against MPF benefits attributable to the employer's contribution which are held in a MPF scheme and which have been withdrawn by the employee. If the proposed amendments are passed by LegCo, they will take effect from 25 May 2001. Hence, should employees receive double payment after the gazettal of the Bill, they may be required to repay the employers the overpaid portion upon enactment of the Bill.

We are mailing out a 4-page membership survey this week. The purpose of the survey is to get a better understanding of what our members want from the Chamber and check the relevancy of our existing services to members. We have not done this kind of survey for many years. We hope you can help us to improve the Chamber's work in fulfilling our mission to promote, to represent and to safeguard the interests of the Hong Kong business community. Please spare a few minutes to complete the survey and fax it back to us at your earliest convenience. For queries, please call our Membership Manager, Ms Daisy Lo, at 2823-1262.

The new policies for .hk domain name will take effect on June 1. Under the new policies, one company may register as many .hk names as one like, the names so registered are transferrable, the fee for each name is HK$200 per annum and disputes will be resolved by arbitration. Domain name registration will largely be first-come-first-served. However, when the new policies kick in on June 1, it is possible that many applicants may wish to register for the same .hk domain name. A ��sunrise period�� of eight days (June 1-8) has been set aside. During which, all identical domain name applications will be awarded by random selection unless an applicant can demonstrate the trademark or servicemark right. Existing .hk name owners may opt to stay with the old JUCC terms or change to the new policies. In either case, they have about a year to do the re-registration. For further information, please call 2319-1313 of HKDNR (web site:www.hkdnr.net.hk).

On May 29, 1861, some 62 business people - representing 51 merchant houses, 5 banks and 6 individuals - got together at the Hong Kong Club and founded the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Tomorrow, we will be celebrating the 140^th birthday of the Chamber. A supplement will appear in five local newspapers. We would like to express our deep appreciation to members and supporting organizations who have helped us to make the supplement possible. If you are interested in reading the Chamber history, please refer to our special Bulletin April issue. (Copies at $50 each, call the Chamber at 2529-9229).

The Chamber, in conjunction with Learn-on.Net and Pearson Education, is organizing the first Chamber e-learning course on "Enhancing Your English Telephone Skills". The web-based program is specially designed for front-line staff to handle phone calls effectively and appropriately. The on-line training minimizes classroom time and maximizes self-learning. We offer a half-day classroom session and unlimited access for one month on-line exercise. The first class will start on 16 June at $1,000 for members. Equip your staff with more skills. Enrol with the Chamber today. Call our Karen Fung at 2823-1240 for details and enrolment.

The Chamber has been running a discount club to promote genuine discounts offered by members to members. It is now renamed Chamber Affinity Programs. You may check the various offers on-line in the "Web Mart" of the Chamber web site. Come June, we recommend three offers to you. First, South China Morning Post will offer 30% discount for HKGCC members subscribing the newspaper. Click to "Web Mart" to download the form. This offer will expire on 31 July. Second, IBM will offer "Buy ThinkPad T22 and get a free IBM Multi Media PC NetVista A40i". The street price for the ThinkPad T22 is $23,888 and the NetVista A40i is $5,998. Third, Autotoll will offer HKGCC members who apply for the Autotoll before 31 December a 3-month waiver on administration fee (valued at $105), free premium (valued at $65) and flexible prepaid toll amount. You need to have a HKGCC membership card or a HKGCC-BOC credit card to get the discounts. For further enquiries, please call our Ms Alfee Wong at 2823-1236. For other offers, please view them in our "Web Mart".

As part of the Chamber's 140th anniversary celebrations, in April we published a special edition of The Bulletin. In this issue, we cover how the HKGCC was founded, how it matured over the years, introduce its founding members and look at the past chairmen and directors that shaped the Chamber into Hong Kong's leading business organization. We also feature corporate profiles on 142 member companies that joined the Chamber during its first century of existence and who are still members today. This is a beautifully presented issue that you will want to keep. Apart from your entitled member copy that we mailed to you last week, you may wish to purchase additional copies at $50 per copy, collected from Chamber's headquarters. For enquiries, please call our Shirley Chau at 2823-1252.

APEC agreed to put the implementation of ABTC on a permanent basis. The Chamber has been helping members to acquire the card in past years. Now you may apply directly to Immigration Department. ABTC holders when presented with a passport may use special lanes and enjoy streamlined immigration clearance at control points and may enter the participating economies without visas for multiple visits of 2 months. As of date, a total of 10 APEC economies accept the card, they are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, HKSAR, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines and Thailand. Any business persons residing in Hong Kong who fulfil the eligibility criteria may apply. Call 2824-6111, fax: 2877-7711, web: www.info.gov.hk/immd/ for more info.

The HK Council of Social Service is organising the conference (in Cantonese) on May 15 in the afternoon at the Sheraton Hotel to discuss the important issue of strengthening family solidarity and to work out practical solutions and actions. The Hon Eric Li is the Chairperson of the conference and speakers include representatives from employer, employee, government and academic. It is a free conference and all Chamber members are welcome to attend. For further information, please call Ms Virginia Chan at 2864-2904.

Please notice that we have recently "framed" the daily real-time arrival and departure air flight schedule for passengers into the Chamber Web Site (with the permission of the Airport Authority). You may now conveniently check the schedule before you fly out from or meet your business partners at the airport. The Chamber Site is also linked to the weather report and real-time traffic conditions at major HK road junctions. Together, they may help you plan your travelling easier. Find these information on the "header" of the Chamber Site and enjoy the convenience that the site offers. For enquiries, please contact Shirley Tong at 2823-1208.

At the Chamber AGM held on 24 April 2001, two new members, Mr Jeffrey Lam and Mr Manohar Chugh, were elected to the General Committee. Mr Graham Brant, Mr Chan Wing Kee, Mr Tony Fung and Mr Alex Ye were re-elected to the General Committee. At the first meeting of the GC immediately after the AGM, Mr Christopher Cheng was elected Chairman. Succeeding Mr Cheng as Deputy Chairman is Mr Anthony Nightingale. The two Vice-Chairmen are respectively Dr Lily Chiang and Mr David Eldon.

The Census and Statistics Department is conducting a survey on IT usage. The data collected will be useful for reference in the development of information technology strategy in Hong Kong. A sample of 4,700 establishments have been selected for the survey. We appreciate it if you would respond to the survey when selected by the Department. For further information, please contact Ms Wendy Hung at 2805-6119.

In recent weeks, you might have read a lot of newspaper reporting on the new IPR Ordinance. The Chamber has worked very hard to help members in two things: (1) to buy licensed software at a discount (2) to convince government that the reprographics portion of the Ordinance is unreasonable and should be revoked.

To do (1), we organized two roundtables in March/April to brief members on the key points of the Ordinance and negotiated with Microsoft to offer discounted software to members. We did the same for another software company Symantec. We hope many members have benefited from these offers. On 29 March, we organized a meeting between representatives of the Chamber SME Committee and Microsoft to smooth out discounted software scheme. To do (2), the Chamber was the first one to raise the issue of casual copying. The General Committee discussed it on 29 March, and we sent out a press statement on 30 March calling on government to revoke this portion of the Ordinance and to delay the implementation. The Chamber Chairman sent a letter stating the same to the Secretary of Commerce & Industry on the same day. On 12 April, the Chamber Deputy Chairman went to LegCo to attend a public meeting with the Panel on Commerce & Industry and to present our case on casual not-for-profit photocopying. At the meeting, government reversed its position and agreed to our views. Government will put forward a bill on 4 May to freeze the portion of the Ordinance on photocopying, downloading information from the Internet, etc. Then government will start another round of consultation to find out the best way forward in amending the new Ordinance.

This is a small, but very good, example of how the Chamber takes lead in issues that affect business and gets result. We hope you appreciate what we have done on behalf of our members.

The Chamber has operated a Discount Club since 1992. It works on the member-help-member principle. We now wish to further leverage on the vast selling and buying power amongst our members by inviting you to join our Affinity Programs. If you have a product/service to offer to other members at a genuine discount, the Chamber will be happy to promote the offer through off-line and on-line means. This could be entirely free of charge or at a small administration fee to cover our manpower costs. Our aim is not to get revenue for the Chamber, but to pass on the full benefit to all members. Identification of membership for discount offers is through the Chamber Membership Card or the HKGCC-BOC credit card. Please check the current Affinity Program list on our Web Mart of the Chamber web site. Please contact our staff at 2823-1236 if you have some good stuff to offer. If you wish to apply for a membership card in order to enjoy discounts offered through the Affinity Programs, again call the same number.

The Hon James Tien is the Chamber LegCo Representative. Mr Tien has recently revamped its web site. It contains information on Mr Tien's speeches and articles, newsletter and his LegCo Report in the Chamber magazine. Members interested in their LegCo Representative's work may find it interesting to visit the site from time to time. We have provided a direct link "LegCo Rep" from the Chamber Web Site. The link appears on the left-hand menu bar. If you wish to contact Mr Tien through email, you may do so on his site was well.

Stephen Selby, Director of the Intellectual Property Department talked to Chamber members on 6 March about recent amendments to the copyright law, which will come into effect on 1 April 2001. The amendments have serious impact on corporate management. For those who missed the talk may click to the Chamber Web site's "Chamber in Action" to hear the speech and the Q & A (in English). The Chamber is organising the same talk in Cantonese (date to be advised). Please watch out our circular and book early to avoid disappointment.

The LAB has agreed at its meeting on 6 March to a number of changes to the Employees Compensation Assistance Scheme to restore its financial viability. One of the changes will cost employers a one per cent increase on the premium of employees' compensation insurance. Members who are interested in the issue may first read the LAB press release. The release can be found on Chamber Web Site. Click "Information" and search "Past News" of date 6 March. If you have further queries, please call Dr Y S Cheung at 2823-1233.

In line with the Chamber new logo, the Chamber Web Site has put on a new design incorporating the new corporate colour of Chamber red and Chamber grey. The header has been changed and the Hong Kong images are strengthened. The newly introduced "Chamber in Action" is a success and attracts a lot of viewing. The site is visited by viewers from 120 countries with a total page view of more than 200,000 a month. We would like to enhance our Information sub site in the next few months. If you have suggestions on content, please send us an email at chamber@chamber.org.hk.

The devastating earthquake in Gujarat, India has rendered millions of people homeless and resulted in huge loss of life and property. The Gujarat Government is now focusing on Reconstruction and Rehabilitation, building community assets. The Confederation of Indian Industry, Gujarat is one of the sister organizations of HKGCC. They are tasked by the Indian Government to help in the reconstruction of the area. We call on our members' support by provision of relief materials and financial assistance to help them tide over the present crisis. For donation, please through your bank send the money in favour of "Confederation of Indian Industry" to the Central Bank of India - Ahmedabad, Gujarat (Chips UID 060288, Account # 000719146, Swift: CBININBBAL). For details, please email the Confederation of Indian Industry at ciiguj@ad1.vsnl.net.in or visit the Confederation's website www.ciionline.org.

The HKSAR Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, unveiled the Chamber's New Logo at the Inaugural Luncheon of the "140^th Anniversary Distinguished Speakers Series" on 22 February. The new logo features a bauhinia flower rendered in a dynamic, fluid style and placed within the last letter of the wordmark "HKGCC". We will be switching over to the new logo in stages. Members who would like to print our new logo in their company stationery as an identity of Chamber membership may approach Ms Daisy Lo, our Membership Manager, at 2823-1262.

Mr Tung's full speech and the Q & A can now be heard from the Chamber Web Site's "Chamber in Action". You may also notice the change in design of the Chamber Web Site's front-page featuring the new logo. We will change the sub-pages in a week's time.

HKGCC is a membership organization. That means we build on the strength of our members. We need strong support from existing members in both retention and recruitment. Your annual renewal of your membership is of the greatest importance to us. We are grateful that more than 80% of members have renewed their membership for 2001, however, there are about 500 still outstanding. To those who have not yet sent in their renewal payment, we urge you to do so at your earliest convenience. For further development of the Chamber, we need your help in referring/introducing your friends/business partners to join the Chamber. With more members, our voice and influence will be stronger and that will in turn allow us to serve members better.

If you would like to give a helping hand to the Chamber, an organization that you are a member of and can be proud of, please call our Daisy Lo at 2823-1262. 

The Chamber's Mongkok CO Office, used to be on the 22nd floor of Silvercorp International Tower, has been relocated to the 3^rd floor of the same building. The new office is double the size of the old one. We are now better able to serve our CO customers in a more efficient and effective way. As the 3rd floor is more reachable by foot, customers may now cut out the long waiting time of passenger lifts. If you have queries on our CO services, please call our Cynthia Chung at 2398-6099.

The American Consulate General would like to inform our members that over the past months, they have worked to improve public access to information about their services, such as visitor's visa and get document notarized. For American citizen in HK, call 2841-2211 during office hours and 2523-9011 after hours for emergency assistance. For visa information, click www.usconsulate.org.hk/consular. For public inquiries, fax to 2147-3586 or email to acgiv@hk.imsbiz.com. They also announced the abolishment of the separate issuance fees for all categories of non-immigrant visas for Hong Kong travel document holders, while the application fee of US$45 (HK$360) will remain.

The Chamber trade inquiry service has been undergone major revamp in the past few months. To better serve members who seek for business information in a timely manner, you can email: bizhotline@chamber.org.hk, answering questions from Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm. We aim to give you the information that are either readily available at the Chamber, or help direct you to the most appropriate sources that we feel you can find an answer. You can also obtain selected trade leads that we publish on our web site via email or fax. There are also opportunities of matching your company with visiting businessmen or delegations that seek for potential partnership close to your business interest. Call our hotline to tell us what you might be looking for, so that we can make our trade inquiry service closer to your needs.

The Trade and Industry Department is organising a conference "Opportunities for the Business Sector in a Changing Global Business Environment" to promote awareness of the implications of China's accession to the WTO for Hong Kong. It will be held on 1 March 2001 (Thursday) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Conference will focus on - (i) changes in the business environment as a result of increasing globalisation and rapid technological advancement; (ii) the importance and relevance of the WTO to the business community; and (iii) the implications of China's imminent accession to the WTO and the opportunities this will bring to Hong Kong businessmen.

Mr Loong Yong-tu, Vice-Minister and Chief Representative for Trade Negotiations of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (to be confirmed) has been invited to give a keynote speech. The lunchtime keynote speaker is Mr Peter Woo, Chairman of the HKTDC. For more information, please visit www.info.gov.hk/tid/e-index.htm (What's New) .

Effect from 1 February 2001, the HKSAR Labour Department has made available the web site www.jobs.gov.hk/ for employers to display job vacancies with the aim to recruit persons from outside HK under the Admission of Talents Scheme. The vacancy information can be submitted by using LD's email form on the said site or fax back at 2566-1614. For further queries, please call Mrs P L Woo of the Immigration Department at 2294-2050.

The Chamber is a corporate client of the US Consulate General's Visa Unit. We are allowed to drop off and pickup non-immigrant visa application on behalf of our members. This will save members' time in queuing up. Any employee of our full corporate member or individual associate, who has an annual salary of HK$150,000 or above and with a passport qualified for drop off service, may apply USA visa through the Chamber at a fee. To use this Chamber service, please call our Ms Hazel Liu at 2823-1233. To know more about USA visa information, please visit www.usconsulate.org.hk/consular.

APEC has recently launched a new business web site BizAPEC.com providing a single entry to information for doing business in the Asia-Pacific region. The site will enable an exporter to explore business opportunities, compare export markets, check tariff levels, customs and standards requirements, access relevant laws and regulations, find business travel visa information and make contact with government agencies and industry associations. You may visit the site through the hyperlink we provide in the Chamber site through "Business Links", then look for Asia.

The British Consul General, Sir James Hodge, informed the Chamber that the fifth British Chevening Scholarships for post-graduate study and post-experience training in the UK is now open for application. Young proactive professionals from Hong Kong and Macau, with a good first degree, competent English skills and about 2-5 years work experience are encouraged to apply. Each successful applicant will receive a full scholarship covering tuition fees, a return air-ticket and a substantial contribution towards living costs. For application form and more detail, please contact Ms Sandy Lai of the British Council at 2913-5263 or view at web site www.britishcouncil.org.hk.

We have created a Web Mart dedicated to meet members' need to promote their products and services in a low cost and effective manner. Members may be aware that the Chamber has been publishing the "Small Ad" for many years. We also run a "Discount Club" leaflet to offer discounts from members to members. We now plan to migrate these two services from paper to web. Moreover, we encourage members to take advantage of the new Web Mart and test the new way of e-marketing. Our charge is as low as HK$150 per month per promotion. If interested, call our Charles Chen at 2823-1288. To see the Web Mart, please go to our front page.

This is Chamber's annual survey on members' view on business prospects of Hong Kong in year 2001. The 7-page document was sent last week to all members by fax. It is also available on Chamber's Web site. We urge you to fill in the survey and fax back to us at your earliest convenience, or just do it on-line. The result of the survey will be announced at this year's Business Summit scheduled on 13 December 2000. Please support the Chamber and make the survey result more representative.

Under the Regulation, for a household electrical product supplied in Hong Kong, suppliers shall ensure that the electrical product complies with the safety requirements prescribed in the Regulation and, with effect from 1 December 2000, shall also ensure that a "certificate of safety compliance" has been issued for the electrical product. Failing to do so may be liable to a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 1 year on first conviction. For further details, please contact Government's EMSD at 2882-8011.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce announced on Oct. 5 that it has signed an agreement with Growasia.com, the first of several mutually beneficial cooperation deals the Chamber plans to ink this year to further expand services and benefits to its members.

The agreement, signed by Chamber Director Dr Eden Woon and Growasia.com Pte Ltd. Chief Executive Ian Gibbs, gives Chamber members six months' free full membership to Growasia's Web services.

Growasia is Asia's first site dedicated to the interactive sale, purchase and development of Asian corporate assets. It is a central source which presents Asian investment opportunities in a clear and consistent manner to corporate and financial buyers.

In July this year, the Chamber called for requests for proposals from companies interested in co-operating with the Chamber to develop its Web site on a mutually beneficial basis. About 40 requests were received, and after a careful screening and evaluation process, that number was whittled down to about 15 proposals.

The Chamber has also concluded cooperation agreements with Rebound (a B2B excess inventory clearing house), and Busytrade (a B2B marketplace for global SMEs to exchange information and perform business transactions). Other companies are expected to conclude the negotiation of cooperation in the coming months.

You can find out more information by visiting the Chamber's Opportunities section of its Web site at www.chamber.org.hk.

The Office of the Privacy Commission for Personal Data has recently issue a "Code of Practice on Human Resource Management". The Office will conduct three seminars in October and November to explain the content and requirements of the Code. If interested, go to www.pco.org.hk/seminar2.html for booking. Enquiries can be addressed to 2877-7152 (Ms Penny Lau) or 2877-7159 (Mr Billy Cheung).

We announced in August of free web site service to members by providing a web path started with chamber.org.hk followed by a name at member's choice so as to enable other people to get to read about the company on the internet. We are happy to report 232 members took up the offer and they may now print the web address of their choice in their calling cards and company stationery. The Chamber is now upgrading its database server and will soon launch the product catalog service to members. Please watch out the development. Thank you for your support.

The Intellectual Property Department of the HKSAR Government and the HK Group of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association is jointly organizing the Symposium 2000 "Hong Kong - An Intellectual Property Gateway" 7-8 November 2000 at Furama Hotel. The Symposium will examine the role of intellectual property in the Asian region seen through the eyes of Hong Kong, and will update delegates on the latest developments in intellectual property protection. For registration detail, please call 2736-7837.

The Chamber monthly magazine - The Bulletin - has been put on-line for several months. The August issue covers stories of: "The City of Life", "HK Real Estate", "Competition Policy", "Q&A with Francis Yuen" and many more. We also provide search facility for past issues. It is a nicely designed page, highly recommended for your reading.

The Chamber issued a Request for Proposal some weeks ago to enlist interest from members who wish to co-operate with the Chamber to develop further its web site. So far, we have received more than 10 proposals. In order to encourage more parties to submit their proposals, we would like to extend the deadline of submission from 15 July to 1 August. After which, we will evaluate the proposals and enter into discussion of co-operation. We hope members interested in e-commerce or web development will respond promptly.

With effect from 1 July 2000, the name of Trade Department has been changed to Trade and Industry Department. This is to reflect its take over from the former Industry Department's general support services for the industrial sector and small and medium enterprises. All forms bearing the name of Trade Department will continue to be used and accepted until existing stocks runout. If you have queries, please contact TID's Judy Ting at 2398-5503.

Other changes as a result of the reorganisation of the trade and industry group of the HKSAR government include

1. The Trade and Industry Bureau becomes "Commerce and Industry Bureau". The Business and Services Promotion Unit has moved over from the Financial Secretary's Office to the C & I Bureau.
2. Establish a new Innovation and Technology Commission to take charge of policy on innovation and technology as well as manage government programmes.
3. Set up a dedicated agency named Invest Hong Kong to oversee inward investment promotion.

If interested to know further details, please call Miss Viola Chan of the C & I Bureau at 2918-7501.

APEC has recently launched a new business web site BizAPEC.com. It contains a vast range of information which is grouped under five broad categories: (1) Business Opportunities, (2) Industry Information, (3) Getting Your Goods to Market, (4) Regional Export Markets and (5) Small and Medium Enterprises. Please check it out if interested.

The Youth Pre-employment Training Programme was launched in September last year to enhance the employment opportunities of young school leavers aged 15 to 19. This year, about 4,000 trainees have now completed their skills training and workplace attachment of one month, and are now ready to enter the employment market. Employers interested in employing these trainees may apply to participate in the On-the-Job Training Scheme whereby the participating employer may claim for a training subsidy of $2,000 per trainee per month, up to a maximum of three months. To apply, please call Labour Department's hotline at 2717-1771.

6 out of the 60 LegCo seats will be returned by the Election Committee (EC) in the upcoming September LegCo election. The EC has 800 members, out of which 12 are to be filled by the Chamber. On 9 July, eligible Chamber member voters will be requested to elect 12 out of 17 candidates to be members of the EC. To know who these 17 candidates are, please click to www.info.gov.hk/eac. If you are eligible to vote, please support the election by voting on 9 July.

The Chamber is now requesting for proposals on co-operation with its Web site. Any organisations, companies or persons who are interested in the further development/marketing of and co-operation with the Chamber Web site on a mutually beneficial basis may forward a proposal on or before 15 July to chamber@chamber.org.hk, with attention to the Chamber Director.

Those who read the Chamber monthly magazine - The Bulletin - may have noticed the changes we have made in recent issues. It has a new look, new contents, and new sections. We hope you like the changes. We have two more initiatives (1) letters to the editor and (2) members' contributory articles. We encourage you to write in to voice your opinions through letters to the editor. Also, you are most welcome to contribute articles to The Bulletin on your area of expertise. Articles should be between 800 and 1,500 words long. Letters, articles and general correspondence about The Bulletin should be sent to the Chamber, attention, the editor, or email, malcolm@chamber.org.hk. Please support us for the improvement.

The Chamber recently announced the launch of the world's first electronic handbook detailing WTO members' commitments on trade in services. The extensive database can be searched by category, country or dozens of other criterion. The handbook aims to improve business community's understanding of GATS and to help HK service providers in identifying potential business opportunities arising from GATS. If interested, go to the Chamber Website front page and look for the icon on the right hand strip or straight into www.chamber.org.hk/gats/

(1) We have a "Member Profile" column to tell interesting stories about our member companies. This week, we publish the stories of Dr Hari Harilela and his company's success. Other stories can be found in the "Member Profile Achieves". (2) We relay messages sent by local and overseas businessmen who wish to contact our members through search in the "Directory" and "Opportunities". These could be useful trade leads that might end up with trade transactions. (3) We publish about 100 new buy/sell inquiries a week. They are mostly genuine business opportunities. We encourage you to check it out daily before your competitors do. Moreover, you can also post your inquiries on-line for global sourcing and matching. These are just three examples. To know more on how the Chamber Website helps you do business, please visit it or call our Wendy Chan at 2823-1207.

The Chamber received an information booklet on North Korea's foreign investment laws and regulations. The document consists comprehensive information with respect to foreign investment, joint venture, tax regime and labour regulations. Members interested in the booklet can contact Ms Amy Tse at 2823-1210.

To better prepare for the GATS negotiations in 2000, the HKCSI released in May its 22-month study "Opportunities from Liberalization of Trade in Services - The Private Sector's Interest". The Executive Summary and the full findings of that report are now on Chamber website: www.chamber.org.hk/service2000.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has recently produced a brochure detailing a complete list of ICC model contracts. They provide direct, practical guidance to traders as well as a user-friendly global standard that responds to business need for reliable legal instruments that save costs. To obtain a complete list of ICC model contracts, please visit the ICC bookstore at website www.iccbooks.com. An information paper put together by The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vietnam which contains the most up-to-date statistical data about the country is available for members' reference. Please call Ms Amy Tse at 2823-1210 for a copy.

This year's AGM was held on Tuesday, 18 April. We thank members for their support of the Chamber through renewal of membership and attending Chamber functions. We thank in particular those members who took time out from their busy schedule to attend the AGM. The six newly elected or re-elected General Committee members are:

The Chamber has taken the initiative to publish a leaflet to answer members' questions on the various ways of applying entry permits for PRC nationals to work, visit on business, training or on holiday in Hong Kong. The leaflet is designed to provide more useful background information but cannot be taken as a full statement of the law governing immigration. A copy of the leaflet will be mailed to you next week, free of charge. Additional copies will be charged at $5 per copy with minimum order of 20 copies, plus postage. Otherwise, you may download from the front page of chamber.org.hk.

The Privacy Commission for Personal Data has issued "Privacy.SAFE", a privacy compliance self assessment kit, to assist organisations in assessing whether their personal data management practices and procedures comply with the requirements of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. The kit comprises a set of checklists, guidance notes and an interactive CD-ROM. It is available for purchase from the Commission at HK$150 per set, plus postage. To order, please call the Commission at 2827-2827.

The Chamber welcomes the Trade Development Council's announcement on 11 April to reduce participation fees for TDC's trade fairs in Hong Kong. The reduction, by up to 20%, will take effect from the next trade fair cycle in April 2001.

Since February 1998, the Chamber has been calling on the TDC to review its pricing policy for exhibitions and trade fairs, so as to make them more affordable to SMEs. The Chamber is glad that our efforts have paid off. The fee reduction by the TDC will benefit our members, particularly the SME traders, who have been going through an extremely difficult time over the past two years due to the economic recession.

For more details of the TDC announcement, please call TDC's general inquiry hotline 2240-4288.

In response to members' interest in the Government Workplace English Funding Scheme, the Chamber is offering 5 courses, tailored for the Funding Scheme, in conjunction with the City University and the Pitman Exam. Each course will be in 14 sessions totalling 35 hours. Course fee per employee of member company is $3,000 ($3,500 for non-member) which includes the Pitman Exam fees. The first course will begin on 15 May 2000. Eligible employees who pass the exam after completion of the course may get $1,500 back from Government. HR Managers who want to know more about the Chamber's Workplace English Program may call our Celia Lo at 2823-1247. Application will be on a first-come-first-served basis.

You may recall the questionnaire we helped the Employers'  Federation of Hong Kong to send out on the 2000 Pay Review Survey. The survey result is now available for sale and members may purchase the report at HK$340 (HK$560 for non-members). It contains detailed breakdowns of salary adjustments by size of company, by salary range and by business sector. Those companies that had participated in the survey will receive a free summary and will be notified separately offering the report at a nominal fee of $160. To order the report, please call Ms Julietta So of EFHK at 2528-0536.

The Government commissioned pilot scheme of training about 300 IT assistants by VTC and ERB is about to bear fruit in May. The graduates, aged 15-19, are trained to be capable of taking up duties such as IT assistant, junior web assistant, assistant technician. Employers who are interested in hiring IT assistants may call Mr Dennis Ng of VTC at 2836-1845, or click to www.ittdc.org. Please note this placement service is entirely free of charge.

The USA Government released the full text of its WTO agreement with China last week. Information on how specific industry sector and agricultural products will be affected by the agreement is revealed. To access to those information, you may click onto the Chamber Website: www.chamber.org.hk and then the "China" button on the front page.

The Marketing Consultancy Office (Social Service) is a non-government step-up funded by the Lotteries Fund and accountable to an Advisory Committee of businessmen and government officials. It runs three programs (1) Rehabilitation: urge employers to use disabled persons to serve their business needs; (2) Volunteer Movement: encourage young people making better use of their leisure time in voluntary service; (3) Senior Citizen Card Scheme: request commercial establishments and public services to offer priority services and concessions to citizens of age 65 or above. To know more, please visit www.mcor.org.hk and www.netteens.net/volunteer. For enquiries, call Ms Lucinda Sung at 2835-1933.

We invite members to visit the Chamber Website "Information" Page. You will find topic specific news: China, Economic and Finance, Human Resources, Industry and Trade, etc, all updated daily. Our monthly magazine "The Bulletin" has its on-line version. All Chamber programs can be found in "Event" and "Training". Events in China and Overseas can be found in "What's On". "Trade Department Circulars" are available in an easy to read format. We also give space for our members to post their newsletters for others to read. In short, the "Information" Page provides focused, short and sharp business information targetted for the busy business executives. A good and valuable source of information to help you do business. Click today to find out more in: www.chamber.org.hk.

The Commissioner for Labour wrote to the Chamber on 28 February to stress the following points which we concur to bring to the attention of our members who are running existing ORSO schemes.

1. If they wish to carry on with their existing scheme, they should apply for exemption from the MPF System by 3 May 2000, subject to certain qualifying conditions.

2. Employer should not take the opportunity of the implementation of the MPF System to reduce the benefits under the existing scheme.

3. Employer may not unreasonably vary the terms of employment without the prior consent of his employees.

4. Under ORSO, employer have to obtain not less than 90% of the scheme members' consent before they can make changes to the scheme's rules if such changes would result in detriment to scheme members' accrued rights or vested benefits.

Members having queries on exemption of existing schemes may call MPFA at 2918-0102. For queries on the Employment Ordinance, please call Labour Department at 2717-1771.

The Chamber Club in Kowloon
The Chamber is proud to announce the opening of the Chamber Club in Kowloon on 1 January, 2000. It is a venture jointly organized by the Chamber and the Hotel Miramar Tsim Sha Tsui. The Club is a dedicated room located on Arcade 2 which offers classic as well as nouvelle Cantonese cuisine. It is open 7 days a week, for lunch only. Upon presentation of your HKGCC membership card or the HKGCC_BOC visa card, you will enjoy a 10% discount on bills AND complimentary fresh fruit platter and dessert. Thinking of somewhere to lunch with the family during new year holidays? Why not try the Chamber Club at Miramar. Reservation before 12:00 noon at 2315 5166. Fuller details are in the mail to you this week.

Members' Opinion Sought
The "Chamber Briefs" has been in existence for almost one year. We started the service with the view of providing small and timely pieces of information which may be of interest to our members. We now need to find out how useful you feel the service is. We hope that you will spare two minutes to fill in and email back the questionnaire. Thank you for your help. We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous new millennium.

Members Forum on our Website
We invite members to express their views on topics of concern. As a start-up, we have put up three topics for chatting on the Web. (1) Race Discrimination (2) Driving Duties of Foreign Domestic Helpers (3) Privacy Code of Practice on HR Management. We encourage you to respond. Please click "Members Only" in the Chamber Website. We also invite you to send in suggested topics for discussion. Please email to ys@chamber.org.hk

Our advice is not to respond to such invitations if it comes from an organisation which you do not know of, has no valid correspondence address or doubtful small print wordings. Be prudent and deal with trustworthy organisations only, e.g. the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.

1. Application for exemption of ORSO exempted schemes.
2. Application for exemption of ORSO registered schemes.
3. Treatment of accrued rights of existing members who join MPF schemes.
4. Preservation of benefits.
   
   Hard copies may be obtained at MPFA at Suites 1407-09, One Pacific Place, Admiralty. (Tel: 2918 0102)