Chamber Annual Report 2003

International Business Division

The International Business Division is responsible for developing and promoting global business connections and the provision of services to Chamber members interested in establishing business contacts outside of Hong Kong. It is responsible for collecting the views of members on business and trade issues and making these views known to the relevant authorities. It organises outgoing missions and hosts meetings for incoming delegations and visitors from abroad. It also provides secretarial support to trade area committees and other special interest committees of the Chamber.

The year 2003 represented an extraordinary twelve months for the International Business Division. Despite very few activities taking place in the first half of the year due to the SARS epidemic, business soon returned to its usual brisk pace following the signing of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in June.

CEPA

To help members understand and get the most out of CEPA, the Chamber launched a series of CEPA workshop in June, which ran throughout the remainder of the year. These focused on a wide spectrum of issues relating to CEPA, from a detailed assessment of the arrangement, to workshops relating to individual sectors, to how to fill out CEPA CO application forms. The Chamber's CEPA experts, industry specialists and government officials from both Hong Kong and the Mainland spoke at these events which were attended by over 1,500 members.

The Chamber also participated in approximately 70 CEPA related events held in Hong Kong, and in the Trade Development Council's CEPA SME Expo. It also published a "CEPA Report  A Business Assessment" in October. Designed to help businesses decide how they can take advantage of the CEPA, 1,300 copies of the report had been sold as of February 2004, and is available in English and Chinese versions.

The International Business Division is also responsible for answering CEPA-related inquiries from members, as well as overseas businesses. In the six months following the signing of CEPA, the Chamber received almost 2,000 inquiries relating to the agreement, and over 60 Mainland visitors and delegations who wanted to explore opportunities with Hong Kong businesses. To further disseminate information on CEPA, the Division set up a Web page in July 2003, which as of December had generated 70,000 hits.

Other China Activities

The Chamber established a Pearl River Delta (PRD) task force to design and work on PRD related projects. The Division organized six PRD roundtable workshops as part of this project. More detailed reports on PRD-related activities organised by other divisions in the Chamber can be found elsewhere in this annual report.

In 2003 the Division organised several study missions to Mainland China, including a 40-member China Committee Working Mission in February, and the first Hong Kong business delegation to Guangdong on May 20 after the SARS epidemic. The 24-member delegation was received by Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua and Guangzhou Mayor Zhang Guangning.

In June, the Chamber organized a 160-member weekend trip to Shanghai to tell the world that both China and Hong Kong were back to "business as usual" after SARS. Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng welcomed the mission leaders. The annual high-level business delegation to Beijing in September, led by Chamber Chairman Anthony Nightingale, was received by Vice Premier Madam Wu Yi. The Division also organized trips to Xiamen for the 7th China International Fair for Investment and Trade, Beijing for the 7th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium, and to Shanghai in November for the 2nd Shanghai-Hong Kong Metropolitan Conference. 

Roundtable luncheons on China organised by the Division continued to be very popular with members, in addition to other China-related events. These included a meeting with Huang Mengfu, newly elected Chairperson of the All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce; a General Committee breakfast meeting with Yang Wenchang, the new Commissioner of the Commissioner office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in the HKSAR; and a luncheon for then Governor of Liaoning Bo Xilai (now Minister of Commerce).

The Division continued to enhance relations with Mainland businesses and associations, and co-hosted a networking cocktail with the Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association in July, among other events. The Joint Business Liaison Committee, which the Chamber helped establish, organized a conference in January and held its Annual General Meeting in Beijing in October.

HKTBCC

The 14th Joint Meeting of the Hong Kong-Taipei Business Cooperation Committee (HKTBCC) and the Chinese Taipei-Hong Kong Business Cooperation Committee was held in November. 

International Business Affairs

During the year under review, the Division organized outgoing missions to India in January, Vietnam in March, and a mission to France, Spain and Portugal in September.

The Division also organised various seminars, workshops, roundtable discussions and luncheons in 2003 to provide members with expert opinions on topical business issues. Among the high-profile speakers at these events were: Suresh Prabhu, Honourable Member of Parliament, India; John Walls Cushnahan, Member of European Parliament and Rapporteur of the first and second European Parliament report on Hong Kong; The Honorable Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister of Belgium; James Keith, Consul General of the United States of America; and Richard Fisher, Vice Chairman, Kissinger McLarty Associates.

The Division also continued to organise more business matching meetings for members with business-matching delegations from Hungary, Poland, France, Sweden, Miami-Dade County, San Francisco, and Quebec being organized during the year. 

More networking functions were also held in 2003, with cocktail receptions in honour of Consuls General of countries in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Americas being organized, in addition to joint luncheons.

Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC)

Following a year of reform for PBEC, Hong Kong's PBEC chapter kicked off 2003 with a Spring Cocktail Reception in March. At its 14th Annual General Meeting in June, David Eldon was re-elected Chairman, and members were updated on the progress of "The New PBEC" campaign.  

In October, a 10-member delegation attended the 36th International General Meeting of PBEC in Seoul, South Korea, while the mid-term meeting was held in Bangkok, later in the same month.   At the meeting, the board approved PBEC's new strategy and restructuring program, including the relocation of PBEC international from Honolulu, Hawaii to Hong Kong. At the meeting, Arthur Kobler was appointed President of PBEC International. 

Chairman's Review   l  CEO's Report  l   International Business Division Report
Business Policy Division Report  l  Economic & Legal Affairs Division Report 
Certification Division Report  l  Business Development Division Report 
Human Resources Division Report  l  Operations Division Report  l  Chamber Services Limited Report