For Immediate Release
Aron Harilela, Chairman and CEO of Hari Harilela Ltd, has been elected Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) for the coming year, taking over from Stephen Ng, who retired from the chairmanship after serving for two years.
Harilela said upon being elected: “I am honoured to be elected Chairman of HKGCC. It is not a responsibility that I take lightly and I hope I can build on the foundations laid by my predecessors. By working with fellow members and businesses, we can further strengthen the Chamber’s role as the voice of business, and also ensure that Hong Kong remains an attractive and competitive place to do business.”
Outgoing Chairman Stephen Ng, Chairman and Managing Director of The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd, said that during the past two years, the Chamber had regularly submitted constructive proposals to the Government on enhancing the business environment. The Chamber had also provided practical suggestions on how the Government could put its surplus to good use, as well as the benefits of removing unnecessary or outdated regulations.
Chamber CEO Shirley Yuen added that the Chamber will continue to contribute ideas on current issues to ensure Hong Kong remains a business-friendly and cosmopolitan city. “We have suggested more straight forward alternatives on ending the MPF offsetting, which make the ultimate objective more feasible for SMEs, remove uncertainty and will not require out-of-pocket expense to cover any shortfall,” she said.
The election was held at the inaugural meeting of the new General Committee immediately after the HKGCC’s Annual General Meeting on the evening of 18 May. Peter Wong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, was elected as Deputy Chairman.
Victor Li, Chairman and Managing Director of CK Asset Holdings Ltd, and Leland Sun, Managing Director of Pan Asian Mortgage Co Ltd, were re-elected as Vice Chairmen, while John Slosar, Chairman of John Swire & Sons (HK) Ltd, was elected as Vice Chairman.
At the Annual General Meeting, members elected a total of six members to fill the seats on the General Committee – the governing body of the Chamber – who were required to step down this year. Four of them were re-elected, respectively: Stanley Hui, Advisor of NWS Holdings Ltd, Ronald Lee, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC, David Lie, Chairman of Newpower International (Holdings) Co Ltd and Emil Yu, General Manager of Keystone Electric Wire & Cable Co Ltd. Agnes Chan, Managing Partner, Hong Kong & Macau of Ernst & Young and Douglas Woo, Chairman & Managing Director of Wheelock & Co Ltd, were newly elected as General Committee members.
Following is an updated list of the General Committee.
Chairman: Aron Harilela
Deputy Chairman: Peter Wong
Vice Chairmen: Victor Li, John Slosar, Leland Sun
LegCo Representative: Jeffrey K F Lam
General Committee Members:
Nicholas Brooke, Agnes Chan, Jennifer Chan, Oscar Chow, Allen Fung, Gao Yingxin, Stanley Hui, Benjamin Hung, Ronald Lee, Lincoln Leong, David Lie, Y K Pang, Neville S Shroff, Douglas Woo, Emil Yu, Yu Pang Chun, Edmond Yue, Betty Yuen and Allan Zeman.
The bio of Aron Harilela is attached.
Photo captions:
Photo 1: General Committee
Photo 2: Chairman’s Committee
Photo 3: Aron Harilela has been elected Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.
Media inquiries: Please contact Mr William Ngo at 2823 1291 / [email protected]