Two months ago we sent out a membership-services survey to all our corporate members. The reason we did the survey was to check on what our members think of our service and to look at what can be improved. We are still analysing the results, which will be published in the September Bulletin, but based on the preliminary findings one suggestion stands out. That is that some members feel that the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce does not do a good job of providing specific business assistance to them. The comment has some merit, but it also is the result of us not communicating our services better to our members. Let me just briefly describe three services we now are introducing which are very much in the category of specific business assistance:

Business Assistance Hotline

We have set up a Business Assistance Hotline (2823 1203/2823 1236) where you can call and get directed to a number of services we provide our members. You will see that the services we provide range from legislative assistance to China information. We urge you to call the hotline should your company have any questions. If we do not know the answer, we will find someone who can help you. Belonging to a Chamber expands your network of knowledge and opportunities exponentially. SMEs should especially welcome calling the hotline when they have a business problem.

Joint Business Liaison Committee

We have set up a Joint Business Liaison Committee with the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Manufacturers Association, and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries. You can call the committee (2117 1221) or check its Web site (www.hkchinabiz.org.hk ) if you have any questions about China business, including any issues you would like resolved inside China. This is particularly useful again for SMEs who do business in China and need policy and regulation information, or assistance on where to turn when they encounter business disputes on the Mainland.

China WTO Corner

We now have a China WTO Corner as part of our Chamber Web site (www.chamber.org.hk/wto). Through this site you can access the latest information on China's WTO entry, plus details on China's policies in different business sectors, including concessions on liberalisation. As China will probably be admitted into the WTO by the end of this year, every Hong Kong business needs to learn more about the new opportunities. Our China WTO Corner can help you in this regard - there is a wealth of China WTO information in this Web site.