Britain in Hong Kong June 2012 by The British Chamber of Commerce

Britain

IN HONG KONG June 2012

Vo l 2 7

www.br itcham.com

No 5

Olympic Fever Not For Sale

CSR: Finding the Right Fit

Hong Kongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Third Runway

Sri Lanka

Contents CSR : Finding the Right Fit

Olympic Fever

Sri Lanka

4 Chairman’s Message

26 CACAO SAMPAKA

6 Olympic Fever

28 Member Discounts

8 Sheltered Harbours

30 Member Get Member 2012

10 The Value of Quiet

32 Annual Ball

12 Succession Planning: Why you need it, and Who to hire

34 Football

14 CSR: Finding the Right Fit 16 Enter the Dragon 18 Hong Kong’s Third Runway: Far From a Done Deal 20 Kellett School 22 YCIS

36 YNetwork ‘Head of the Table’ 39 Sterling Members 40 News and New Appointments 41 New Members 42 Upcoming Events 43 Shaken Not Stirred

24 Sri Lanka

Britain in Hong Kong Editor Sam Powney Design Winnie Li Lilian Yu Ken Ng Advertising Contact Charles Zimmerman Project Management Vincent Foe

Jointly Published by Speedflex Medianet Ltd and The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong 1/F, Hua Qin International Building 340 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong Tel: 2542 2780 Fax: 2542 3733 Email: info@speedflex.com.hk Editorial: sam.powney@speedflex.com.hk Advertising: charles@speedflex.com.hk

British Chamber of Commerce Secretariat Executive Director CJA Hammerbeck CB, CBE General Manager Cynthia Wang Marketing and Communications Manager Emily Ferrary Special Events Manager Becky Roberts Events Executive Mandy Cheng Business Development Manager Dovenia Chow

Membership Executive Lucy Jenkins Accountant Michelle Cheung Executive Assistant Jessie Yip Secretary Yammie Yuen Ofﬁce Assistant Sam Chan

Room 1201, Emperor Group Centre, 288 Hennessy Road, Wanchai Tel: 2824 2211 Fax: 2824 1333 Website: www.britcham.com

© All published material is copyright protected. Permission in writing from the Publishers must be obtained for the reproduction of the contents, whole or in part. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily the opinions of the Publishers. The Publishers assume no responsibility for investment or legal advice contained herein.

Chairman’s

Message In my first letter as Chairman of the

with C Y Leung’s new team, will do so

Chamber, I want to start by thanking my

in a positive way, in order to contribute

predecessor Kevin Taylor for carrying the

to maintaining a thriving community and

torch over the last two years. I think the

business environment. Although for some

Olympic metaphor is appropriate since

of our membership, the summer may be

the key challenge for a Chairman is, as a

a time of less activity in Hong Kong, the

minimum, not to drop the torch or allow the

opposite will be the case for Hong Kong’s

ﬂame to go out. I rather hope I can do even

new administration, focused on a busy ﬁrst

better than this, and build on the many successes of

100 days from 1st July. Your Chamber will be busy too,

Kevin’s tenure.

ensuring that we play our part in that process.

It was a little daunting to hear Christopher Hammerbeck

A key challenge for us, and for business more generally,

informing our AGM how onerous the role of Chairman

will be to help get over the message that commerce

is. Somehow he had neglected to tell me that when

generates the surplus that grows the wealth of the

asking me to stand…Nevertheless I look forward to the

community. Without it, there are no proﬁts to tax, fewer

challenge. I will try to attend a wide range of Chamber

jobs and less innovation. In an environment where much

events and to meet as many members as possible. To

of the media portrays business in a negative light, it is

help me in my work, I would urge you, if you have ideas

vital that those of us in business do our best to correct

about the Chamber, or anything that concerns you, to

this bias. As a Chamber of “Commerce”, we above all

discuss them with me, or with other members of the

must not be shy to promote the merits of commerce in

General Committee, particularly our two Vice Chairman,

our city.

Andrew Weir and Mark Greenberg. Of course we are in a bumper year of more significant changes of administration all over the world. This will present the Chamber with the need to engage with new developments in Hong Kong, and potentially in Hong Kong’s role within China. Despite the many negative developments elsewhere, which may have an impact on Hong Kong, I believe that the start of a new administration here provides the basis for an optimistic stance. The Chamber, in engaging

Nick Sallnow-Smith

Chairs of Specialist Committees Business Angel Programme Neil Orvay Asia Spa & Wellness Limited

Environment Committee Anne Kerr Mott MacDonald Hong Kong Limited

Logistics Committee Mark Millar M Power Associates

Small & Medium Enterprises Committee Kate Kelly K2PR

Business Policy Unit Tim Peirson-Smith Executive Counsel

Financial Services Interest Group Debbie Annells Azure Tax Consulting

Marketing & Communications Committee Adam O’Conor Ogilvy & Mather Group

Strategic Supply Chain Forum Dominic Jephcott Vendigital Limited

China Committee David Watt DTZ

HR Advisory Group Brian Renwick Boyden Search Global Executive

Real Estate Committee Jeremy Sheldon Jones Lang LaSalle

Women in Business Committee Sheila Dickinson The Fry Group

Construction Industry Group Derek Smyth Gammon Construction

ICT IT Committee Craig Armstrong Standard Chartered

Scottish Business Group John Bruce Hill & Associates

YNetwork Committee Alison Asome

Education Committee Stephen Eno Baker & McKenzie

C ove r S t o r y

Olympic Fever London is the centre of attention this summer. The BBC may be taking some flak for their coverage of the Diamond Jubilee, and few seem to hold out much hope of success for England’s performance in the European Cup, but the main focus is on next month’s Olympics. It seems hard to believe that four years ago London’s new mayor Boris Johnson stood on the Olympic stage at Beijing (amid a certain amount of murmuring over his dress sense) to welcome people to London in 2012. True to his love of London, he recently promised, ‘the greatest Games that has ever been held, in the greatest city on Earth’. Three Times Lucky The last time London held the Olympics was in 1948 – a different era in terms of sporting culture, although one which also saw Britain under considerable economic strain. In fact, London will be the ﬁrst city to have held the Summer Olympics 3 times, the city having held one of the earliest International Olympics, the tournament of 1908. Assuming 2012 goes off without a hitch, this will be the ﬁrst time that London has held the Olympics as planned. The 1908 Games were scheduled to take place in Rome, but, with just two years to go, an unscheduled eruption at Vesuvius left the Italian government unable to support the cost. London stepped in. 1948, on the other hand, was a delay, after the 1944 London Olympics was cancelled due to ongoing world war. Despite Johnson’s jingoistic assurance, the question that continues to play over in Londoners’ minds is the matter of comparison. Will the 2012 Games be another Beijing, or another Athens? Beijing’s 2008 spectacle served as an

affirmation of China’s return to the world stage – a national cultural accomplishment to match progress on the political and economic fronts. In stark contrast to Athens’ last-minute completion of its stadiums, Beijing’s startling new venues were completed well ahead of schedule. But while Beijing certainly set a standard of excellence in terms of its infrastructure and public enthusiasm, the London organisers seem to have taken some notice of the positive aspects of Greece’s 2004 Games too. Unusually for the Olympics, perhaps the memorable moment of the 2004 Games was the shot-put returning to the original track at Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympics. London has arranged several major events to take place in the open air, most notably at Dorney Lake and Greenwich Park, a welcome change from gloomy stadia. In fact not only has London’s Olympic organising committee (LOCOG) built a shallower and more open main stadium in Stratford, they also seem to have ﬁlled it with spectators. Recent reports from Locog claim that 7 million of the 8.8 million tickets have already been sold, which indicates that London will not repeat Beijing’s struggle to fill empty seats. Bocog, Beijing’s Olympic organising committee, had to resort to bussing in volunteer cheerleaders after some of the early events noticeably failed to sell enough tickets. Empty seats have been an ongoing problem for successive Olympic Games at least since they began to be broadcast on live TV. London’s online ticket sales have not run entirely smoothly, but the prices have been pitched in a healthy range – from £20 for some events to over £2,000 for ‘AA’ tickets at the opening ceremony. This resulted in enormous excitement during the ﬁrst few weeks of online sales.

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SADLY MISSED

Broadcasting The BBC has come under fire for their lacklustre coverage of the Diamond Jubilee. Stephen Fry, among others, took to Twitter to complain, “Has the BBC ever presented a more mind-numbingly tedious programme in its history?”, later clarifying that his criticism was aimed squarely at the coverage, not the event itself. There’s a general expectation of more insightful BBC coverage for the Olympics. The BBC is going all out to broadcast as many events as possible to all viewers in the UK, on a range of channels, on their website and streaming to electronic devices. They plan to broadcast 2,500 hours of Olympic action, having set up 24 HD channels and a new radio channel dedicated to the competition. The picture in Hong Kong is more complicated. Many local residents were incensed when they learned that the city’s two free-to-air channels had failed to win the rights to broadcast the Olympic events. Bowing to public sentiment, the broadcasters have struck a deal, whereby the free-to-air ATV channel will broadcast the cable coverage of the Olympic spectacle directly from internet provider i-Cable. However, if your Cantonese isn’t fluent, you might be left wondering what’s going on. While ATV is an English language channel, the cable Olympic coverage is likely to be in Cantonese. The popular reaction to the Olympics has been overwhelmingly positive despite the occasional complaints from taxi drivers and former Minister for the Olympics Tessa Jowell’s view that had the Labour government foreseen the economic crisis, they would not have made the London bid in the first place. In terms of finances, London wants to set itself apart both from Athens 2004 and from Beijing 2008: Boris Johnson has assured his townsmen that the Games will not cost them ‘a penny more on their council tax’. In fact, the central government are footing 64% of the total bill, but in July 2011 Sports and Olympic Minister Hugh Robertson revealed that he expected the project to be delivered on time and under budget. This followed substantial cutbacks to the Olympic budget by the incoming government a little over than a year earlier, and can be considered an unusual achievement in the records of Olympic spending. London has apparently made its own path in hosting the Olympics, one which does not bear too much resemblance either to the pomp of 2008 or to the bankrupting chaos of 2004. London has already reaped large rewards from ticket prices and stands to gain significant income from tourists, while at the same boosting the image of the city and the nation.

For those familiar with the less well known Olympic events - dressage and BMX cycling spring to mind – the Olympic sports of yesteryear might bring back fond memories. Here are a few of the events which were, for whatever reason, discontinued: Swimming Obstacle Race This event seems so entertaining it’s hard to believe it was ever dropped. Competitors had to swim 25 metres, get out of the water, clambour over a pole, make their way over a row of boats, then dive in again and swim back underneath. That it was dropped after the Paris 1900 Olympics may have had more to do with the strong current and unclean water than anything else. They were swimming in the Seine. Live Pigeon Shooting 300 birds were sacrificed for the first Paris Olympics of 1900, with Belgian Léon de Lunden taking gold. Sports historian Andrew Strunk described the scene, “Maimed birds were writhing on the ground, blood and feathers were swirling in the air and women with parasols were weeping…” It was never repeated. Duelling Pistols After deciding that live pigeon shooting was a bad idea, early Olympians devised another event involving firearms, this time using dummies dressed in frock coats. At a distance of 20 and 30 metres, participants in the 1912 Olympics aimed for a target on the dummy’s neck. Tug of War This sports day favourite is truly conspicuous by its absence at the modern Olympics. In 1908 the event was won (amid allegations of cheating) by a team of Liverpool’s police constabulary, but tug-of-war always had a propensity to turn into riots, especially when members of the crowd hopped across and joined in. It was discontinued after 1920, but some athletes think it could one day make a comeback. A staple of the ancient Olympics, these days it might well be possible to enforce stricter ‘ground rules’. Rope Climb Also an ancient Olympic event, the rope climb continued on in the modern era until 1930. In 1896 only two competitors made it to the top, but officials continued tinkering with the length and thickness of the ropes over the years, until finally giving up altogether. Again, some Olympians think this sport could one day make a comeback.

Business

Sheltered Harbours Interview with Paul Christopher, Managing Partner, Mourant Ozannes Hong Kong

Paul Christopher, Managing Partner of Mourant Ozannes Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading offshore law firms met with Britain in Hong Kong to talk about offshore investment, the reasons behind why they opened an office in Hong Kong and the challenges they have faced along the way. What kind of expertise does your firm comprise? Including myself, we have six lawyers here. That’s three partners, two senior associates and one more associate. Offshore firms don’t tend to be very big, but worldwide we’re one of the largest. Globally we have slightly over 50 partners and 440-450 staff. What kind of services do you provide your clients? We provide legal advice in relation to four key jurisdictions, particularly for the British Virgin and Cayman Islands and also (less commonly in Asia) for Jersey and Guernsey.

How do you deﬁne ‘offshore’? For some people Hong Kong and Singapore will be regarded as ‘offshore’. The word ‘offshore’ has tended to reflect the geography of the place and the type of jurisdiction. They would be facilitating jurisdictions, enabling structures to be set up and business to be conducted, often in a taxneutral way. The traditional offshore centres are the Channel Islands, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands (BVI); and then you have what are now sometimes referred to as ‘mid-shore’ such as Ireland or Luxembourg. There’s an argument to be made that Hong Kong and Singapore might fall into that category, but Asia has its own unique structures, like the international offshore financial centre and free trade zone in Labuan, Malaysia. What are some of your challenges?

What type of clients do you work with? Essentially, any business or anyone who could use offshore lawyers. That tends to range from various classes of asset funds (hedge funds, private equity, real estate, etc.) to the general ﬁnance and corporates, IPOs. Most of our work is hand-in-hand with other international law firms, accounting and other advisory firms in order to provide solutions. Our clients include corporates investing in and out of the region and some high-net worth individuals. In Asia there’s always that combination of corporate and personal wealth.

It’s a competitive market in Hong Kong, but I think we quite enjoy that challenge of getting out there and offering a new option in terms of offshore service providers. But the general economic climate is clearly better in this part of the world than in the US or Europe. On the other hand, unfortunately you can’t insulate against that economic uncertainty either here or anywhere else. The nature of the business that’s being conducted offshore is changing. There’s an enhanced degree of regulation and scrutiny that’s being created since the global ﬁnancial crisis. So the nature of the business is changing. Certainly in more developed

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markets it tends to be more an institutional type of business. Forty years ago offshore business revolved very much around private client and private wealth. As offshore jurisdictions mature, they tend to attract more institutional and corporate type business, although in many cases there is still underlying private wealth to serve. Is there increasing interest in offshore banking from this part of the world? We are seeing increased business flows from this part of the world, and the nature of interest in offshore investment is changing. At one time the focus was mainly on investment into the region, and into China in particular. That interest is still there, but there’s also a great opportunity for outbound investment into offshore investment. The large corporations in South Korea, for example, have been making major investments abroad. The Hong Kong ofﬁce is our hub for the whole region. What are the common motivating factors which drive people to register in these jurisdictions? What’s your view on the ethics of so-called ‘tax havens’? There’s been some negativity attached to the offshore centres which is part of the fallout from the ﬁnancial crisis. That’s much less prevalent here than in Europe for example. I think quite a lot of that antipathy was driven by political scapegoating and the idea that there was something illegitimate going on. Many people have read John Grisham’s The Firm which is set in the Cayman Islands, so there’s the immediate linkage between ‘offshore banking’ and

all kinds of shady dealing. The reality is a lot more mundane than that. The main investors you find in offshore jurisdictions tend to be institutions and pension funds. Offshore regulation often provides a greater degree of flexibility than in onshore legislations. In a positive economic environment, more creative approaches to taxation are accepted in a positive light, whereas in a downturn attitudes tend to harden. What the offshore centres really do is to create an environment which is tax neutral to facilitate investment and its divestment out of particular jurisdictions in the most efficient way. It’s fulfilling a function that, for whatever reason, can’t be fulfilled onshore. But equally, all those offshore account-holders are paying their taxes onshore, and in many cases the funds are providing pensions. In many cases they’re actually trying to benefit ordinary people, but it’s often not well understood. Why did you choose to be based in Hong Kong? This is where our main contacts in the region are, so for us it was an obvious choice. Hong Kong is well placed as our hub for Asia, because we are looking to develop other markets. Mourant Ozannes opened its Hong Kong office earlier this year. It services clients based in the Asia Pacific region by providing multi jurisdictional offshore legal advice concerning investment funds, IPOs, banking, corporate, restructuring and international trust work. For further information, please visit www.mourantozannes.com

Business

My name is Tracy McLeod

The Value of

Quiet

Tracy McLeod, Rock the Boat Consulting

and I’m an introvert! That’s a bold statement to make, particularly in my line of work where I’ve spent almost 20 years trying to convince others and more worryingly myself t h a t I ’ m n o t a n i n t ro v e r t . Why? In my experience the misperception of being antisocial or worse still, having no social skills, being aloof and standoffish applied to Introverts (and all things I’ve personally had feedback on) means that I’ve been compelled to project what I believe to be more extroverted traits. Why am I now passionate about telling others I’m an Introvert? I have to thank Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a world that can’t stop talking. The book explores many aspects of Introversion but equally gives great insight into the world of extroverts, regardless of where you fall on what’s sometimes called the North and South of temperament (and according to studies highlighted in Quiet almost one third of us are introverts). The book has been transformational for me personally and even for my extrovert colleagues! The book explores something termed the ‘extrovert ideal’ – the view that this has become the business cultural ideal. If you consider those traits that are valued more often than not, those predictors of success (in the eyes of many) tend to be traits associated with extroversion – talking, asserting opinion, certainty, action, risk taking. In my past experience as a recruiter these have been viewed as essential requirements for leadership roles, and whilst I believe that talking and presenting are extremely valuable the book argues that we may have placed too much value on them such that listening, Information gathering, reﬂectiveness and critical thinking are almost excluded or at least less valued. The book also discusses the extrovert ideal as being the cultural ideal and that we learn this at an early age. My own memories of school are littered with examples of conversations between my teachers and parents about me “not speaking up enough”, not volunteering enough, not taking part in school plays/performances etc. The most alarming aspect of this is the belief that I developed as I got older that this was somehow wrong and not a good thing! I now realise it’s not wrong, just different to the world as viewed by many extroverts. As a coach and facilitator I’m now determined that people gain insight into their preferences and harness the

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strengths associated with these and more importantly communicate these strengths to others. One key question the book poses – Is temperament destiny? The old ‘Nature or Nurture’ debate! Results have suggested that introversion and extroversion traits are 40% to 50% heritable. Whilst we may be born with hard wired temperaments that shape our personalities the question do we have any control over this and can we adapt is an important one. If my own experience is anything to go by then yes we can certainly adapt. My fear of public speaking almost paralysed me as a university student in my late teens and I made the very conscious decision to feel the fear and do it anyway! I volunteered for as many public speaking/presenting activities as I could in the belief that the more I did it I would eventually not be phased by it at all. The result, interestingly, is that whilst I’m more comfortable than I was about it I’m deﬁnitely still phased. I’ve always been curious as to why even with positive feedback that I still get very nervous about addressing groups of people. After reading the book I’m clearer on the fact that as an introvert I may never fully feel at ease doing those things that are outside my comfort zone but it also explains why. M y c u r re n t ro l e i n v o l v e s f a c i l i t a t i n g l e a d e r s h i p development interventions, networking and business development - how is that possible and how can I do a role which involves many aspects contrary to my traits? I’m passionate about what I do and I believe strongly in what our organisation stands for and this facilitates the regular move out with my comfort levels. The key however is to ensure you know yourself and understand your needs in order to redress the balance. For me it’s ensuring that I regularly have ME time, time where I can read and be alone in my own head. Adapting is reliant on understanding who you are and your needs and ensuring you have strategies for redressing the balance for you!

I believe that business culture requires both introverted and extroverted individuals and that these dimensions should certainly be part of any diversity & inclusion discussion. It’s highlighted the need for me to include this in the field in which I work and I believe organisations should be moving towards valuing quiet, listeners, reﬂectors, deep thinkers as much as they do loud talkers, great presenters and risk takers. introverts are the balancing conscience for many extroverts, tempering somewhat their desire to take risks, compete and win, and can be invaluable at helping to achieve more through effective consultation, collaboration and partnership, which transcends silos and even positional power. Any leadership assessment and development processes should address both aspects and allow introverts and extroverts to truly value the contributions of one another. The debate about introversion and extroversion continuum should continue and as studies suggest, it can be one of the most important aspects of personality and that can shape our social and working styles so let’s keep the discussion going! Transform your talent, leaders and organisational culture…when the time is right for you. Rock the Boat Consulting are the recommended choice where our customers seek deep expertise in one of the following areas: Top Talent and Leadership Development, Assessment, Managing Self and Others through Change, HR Consulting, Executive Coaching and Development, Mentoring, Career Path Development. With over 50 experts in UK, Europe, US and Asia and with partnerships globally, we have the breadth and depth of expertise to enable our clients to fulfil the potential of all the talented people within their organisation. For further information, visit www.rocktheboatconsulting.com

Business

Succession Planning:

Why you need it, and Who to hire Bó Lè Associates

With the increase of talent shortage and executive departures, a key question facing businesses in the current global climate is this: If a critical business-driving executive leaves, who is capable of filling the position? In a study conducted in mid-2010 by Stanford University surveying over 140 CEOs and Board Directors, more than 50% of the companies examined could not immediately name a successor to their CEO. Furthermore, a full 39% of the survey’s respondents stated that they had zero viable internal candidates. When a key executive departs a business, in particular listed companies, this can immediately cause a wave of concern and uncertainty, leading to a drop in company value. When Steve Jobs resigned his position as CEO at Apple Inc., the stock dropped 3%, wiping USD$10 billion off the company’s value. Succession planning is crucial to business stability, so ensure that your company adequately prepares a succession plan in case things go wrong.

How Succession Planning Adds Value to your Business Stability – Both employees and executive management will feel reassured by the presence of a backup plan. Employees will know that in the long term, leadership changes are likely to be stable and therefore won’t affect their livelihood. Overall, this will also help in employee

retention, as staff are more likely to stay in a company if they believe that their position will remain in the future. Company Loyalty – A succession plan can increase company loyalty, as it will signify that a business is holding its employees’ interests first by considering internal candidates for promotions, rather than searching externally. Employees would therefore be more inclined to stay at the company, as they would see that the business takes their career development seriously. Confidence – By planning for future replacements for key executives, a good succession plan will increase moral throughout the company. This is because it will show awareness by executive management regarding the future of the company, and employees will be reassured by the fact that they will not be left without any direction. Increased Company Valuation – Beyond the balance sheet, investors also speculate on a business’s longterm development when choosing to purchase equity or debt in the firm, and a succession plan would clearly indicate efforts by management to secure the future of the business. This would therefore lead to increased valuation for the company, as it would show that executive management has clear plans and contingencies for the future.

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Should You Elevate an Internal Candidate, or Hire an External One? Pros Internal Candidate

External Candidate

Already has adapted to company environment and culture

Fresh candidate – may inject new innovation and insight into the company

Already a part of the company – would not create internal hostility

Allows business to expand into another direction if executive hired has experience in other markets

Company would be very clear on his/her skills and abilities

Adds diversity to the company environment

Cons Internal Candidate

External Candidate

Other candidates will have to be found to replace the position of the candidate being elevated

Not sure if a good ﬁt for company culture, or if capable of adapting

Continual inner promotions means a lack of fresh ideas – innovation will be limited

May create internal rift, as company seen as not acting in employee interest

Training and development costs can be higher than simply hiring an external candidate with existing skills

Unsure if skills and abilities are well-suited to the position until he/she begins work

A Pyramid of Succession Succession planning should not only be present at the highest levels of management in a business, but should stretch down the managerial line. Companies which run a highly centralised structure often operate inefﬁciently, as managers do not have enough authority to properly authorise transactions or deals, leading to executive management being swamped with decisions. Delegate authority down the line – By distributing the ability to make decisions throughout the organisation, a business will be able to better assess available talent by evaluating which employees make the best decisions. It will also create a pyramid structure, in which despite the tip being crucial in the completion of the pyramid, the foundations below it will still hold on their own. Create a chain of succession – Ideally, there should always be at least one person directly below a managerial position that is capable of acting in that position. Not only will this ensure that the business has a very straightforward career development path (therefore making it much more attractive to employees), but it will also ensure a healthy talent chain which management can draw on. Shared Responsibility – By spreading responsibility a n d a u t h o r i t y d o w n t h e c o m p a n y, s e n i o r- l e v e l

management successors would no longer require such a huge wealth of expertise and managerial experience, thereby increasing the pool of potential candidates. This kind of structure would make succession planning within the company a much simpler ordeal, and offers both stability and long-term development for the business, the employees, and the investor.

About Bó Lè Associates Bó Lè Associates is the largest executive search firm in Asia with a well-developed network of 25 wholly owned local offices worldwide, over 510 staff including 460+ experienced consultants and researchers, and 50+ support staff including Finance and Accounting, IT, in-house Recruitment and Training, and Marketing and Communication specialists. Operating since 1996, they have completed over 11,300 executive search assignments. www.bo-le.com For further information, please contact Louisa Wong, Executive Chairman by calling (852) 2525-4339 or send an email to marketing@bo-le.com

Business

CSR : Finding the Right Fit

Dovenia Chow

Mark Cheung, Corporate Relations Grant Manager, Plan International Hong Kong

Of all the challenges within a company, no matter its size, finding the right organisation to support is perhaps the most vexatious. There are a number of factors that typically are taken into consideration among which might be: • • • • •

Is the NGO’s work aligned with the corporate philosophy of giving? Does it have the emotional pull to engage all staff? Does it have multiple platforms that permit different programmes to be initiated? Can the corporate CSR programme grow with the NGO? Is there an opportunity for active staff engagement, e.g. in volunteering?

At the SME end of the corporate spectrum, the ideal would be to be able to start small whilst being assured that even a modest contribution is making a difference. That as the company grows bigger, their CSR efforts can also expand as appropriate.

At the larger end of the scale, established conglomerates, with more complex requirements, may have a need for involvement on several different levels. It is rare to find an NGO that has versatility built into its programmes’ DNA but Plan International Hong Kong is one such. A child-focussed organisation, it supports disadvantaged children and their communities in emerging economies in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Its history is closely connected to Hong Kong, where it operated a field office from 1959 – 1973, helping some 12,000 disadvantaged children, a great many of whom were refugees from around the region. Some of its beneficiaries are recognised figures in our society today – for example, LegCo member Mr Paul Chan, and film director Alfred Cheung. Both acknowledge the difference that regular sponsorship made to their future paths in life. Plan returned to Hong Kong in 2009 to establish its fundraising ofﬁce. Plan has been able to identify several hundred other Hong Kong former beneficiaries who now form a powerful volunteer force. There are no better advocates for the positive outcomes of the NGO’s work. What are the options that companies might find if they wanted to support Plan? A first step, and one that is particularly sustainable for an SME, might be as simple as initiating a Business Child Sponsorship scheme for the company, matching staff with corporate sponsorship. Matching ambassadors for the company can directly engage with the children, following their lives and the incremental improvements that sponsorship has facilitated.

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Investment in physical projects such as installing clean water systems, building and furnishing g schools, or funding medicall outreach care in rural areass enables companies to track progress, visit the projects, engage with the communities and see the results of their sponsorship. The real and lasting legacy for this support is in making the communities self-sufficient. Take for example Banphai, Thailand, where once there was poor life expectancy in under-fives, limited access to clean drinking water, a severe shortage of work options for women and extremely poor school attendance. Today, life expectancy has improved significantly, the school watertank and filtration system is maintained by the community, a weaving cooperative established with Plan funding successfully supports the families of its employees and children now complete their pre, primary and secondary education. Other companies like the opportunity to support fundraising through staff activities, be it volunteering or participating in events. The recent, successful inaugural Plan Walk for Children, which took place at Ocean Park and is intended to be an annual event, enabled adults to bring their children along for a family day out with a purpose. Company participants especially had fun competing for the best-dressed team prize. Diversity programmes are also appealing to a number of companies who are interested in supporting issues such as gender equality. Of the children and communities that Plan helps, those most seriously disadvantaged are girls and young women. They suffer more harshly in cultures where they are regarded and treated as second-class citizens. Their futures are compromised by poor health and lack of education, and their vulnerability puts them at further risk of many forms of abuse. In Hong Kong, the Because I am a Girl Campaign (BIAAG) has a number of key women professionals from several walks of life and careers who have taken up an active ambassador role in lending their names and support to the campaign. Following on from Plan’s 2011 community-wide photography competition on the theme of Because I am a Girl, several companies supported in cash or in kind, the Plan Charity Show this May that raised monies for the Girls’ Fund.

One of the women ambassadors, Betty Yuen, Vice Chairman of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited realised the importance of girls’ power, and acclaimed “Because I am a girl, I hope to raise the awareness of what girls are capable of if we are given the opportunity.” What was especially attractive to sponsors of the event was that the show featured performances by primary school children through to young music professionals from Hong Kong who set their own concerns aside to devote time to participating in the event, in support of children less fortunate than themselves. Companies were able to facilitate this by providing cash or in-kind sponsorship. The range of opportunities for sponsorship is wide. Plan is well able to tailor a programme to corporate requirements, no matter the size. Companies interested in finding a bespoke programme that fits their specific ambitions will ﬁnd a welcome mat, a willing ear and an open mind at Plan International Hong Kong. For further information, please contact: Mark Cheung at mark.cheung@plan.org.hk Established in 1937, Plan International is one of the world’s leading development organisations, specifically focused on children. Headquartered in the UK, Plan supports more than 10 million children and their communities that are working with Plan. Plan works in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas, supported by fundraising offices in 20 countries. The organisation’s programmes concentrate on making real, positive and lasting improvements to quality of life in the areas of education, health, environment and livelihood, and on helping children to realise their full potential in societies that respect their rights and dignity. For more information, please visit www.plan.org.hk

Business

Enter the

dragon Julie Laulusa Managing Partner Mazars Mainland China

2012 is officially the Year of the Dragon, a symbol of power and success in China. Hannah Uttley assesses the potential for companies hoping to tap in to China’s growing economy and changing lifestyle opportunities.

With the recent opening of a new Club Med ski resort in Yabuli, and the surge in sales of Bentley cars in 2011, there is a clear demand for luxury products in the Chinese market. According to predictions by global consultancy ﬁrm, McKinsey, China will account for around 20 per cent, or 180 billion renminbi (USD$ 27 billion) of global luxury sales in 2015.

In addition, companies now have a wider audience to market to due to the emergence of China’s middle class. Julie Laulusa, Managing Partner, Mazars in mainland China explains the consumer demand behind luxury items as a desire for status, “To most Chinese consumers, buying luxury products is one of their dreams — a kind of pursuit.”

Since China’s economic reform, rapid growth of the country’s economy has helped to pull thousands of citizens out of poverty and increased the country’s domestic purchasing power dramatically. While this growth in domestic consumption is fuelling an appetite for goods and services across the board, it is demand at the luxury end of the market that catches the eye.

And following the government’s announcement last month that it would implement a 13 per cent annual increase on the minimum wage from 2011 to 2015, the power of the Chinese consumer looks set to continue.

It’s a sector that is proving particularly resilient. Even during the global recession of 2009, luxury good sales in the mainland rose by 16 per cent — albeit down from 20 per cent on previous years. Part of this is down to the decreasing Julie Laulusa popularity of the counterfeit market, as many Chinese shoppers are becoming savvy at distinguishing genuine products from ‘clever’ fakes.

Laulusa warns, however, that the impending minimum wage increase and resultant higher inﬂation means China will no longer be a safe bet for foreign businesses seeking to outsource labour and materials cheaply. “The Chinese economy is experiencing transition from relying on exports towards domestic demand. In China’s latest five-year plan, plans to improve living standards, education quality and medical services are being introduced to enhance the spending power of Chinese citizens. The minimum wage would expect to be doubled in ﬁve years. With the expansion of the domestic market, it will gradually replace the export-reliant model,” says Laulusa.

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So rather than seeing China as an import opportunity to reduce costs, UK companies should now be looking to export their own products and services to cater for growing demand. The latest research by HSBC says UK exports to China grew by 21 per cent in 2011. It also ﬂags up the automotive sector as offering “exceptional predicted growth created through demand from emerging exports”: As such, it expects car exports to China to grow by 15 per cent over the next five years. Other sectors UK companies should look to access include those the Chinese government has earmarked for continuous support going forward. These include energy conservation and environmental protection industries; new-generation IT industry; biological industry; high-end equipment manufacturing industry and health care. In particular, the Chinese government plans to pay special attention to environmental protection development, according to Laulusa. She says more and more cities in China are beginning to be aware of the importance of environmental protection and are now moving factories to industrial zones or urban areas. Green energy — mainly solar power — programs are currently promoted on Chongming Island, Shanghai; Dunhuang City, Gansu Province and Erdos City, Inner Mongolia.

Vital Statistics • Ofﬁcial name: People’s Republic of China • Main cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong • Currency: Renminbi Yuan • GDP (2010): $5.927 trillion • GDP per capita: $4,428 • GDP growth: 10.4 per cent • GDP distribution: Agriculture 9.6 per cent, industry 46.8 per cent, services 43.6 per cent • Inﬂation: 6.6 per cent • Income level: Upper middle income • GNI, PPP: $10.222 trillion Source: World Bank and Worldpress.org

W ith China developing so rapidly, work on legal frameworks and corporate governance issues can often lag behind and companies can come unstuck in such a fast moving and complex market. While care needs to be exercised on the legal side, Laulusa points to China’s diversity and culture as the biggest initial stumbling block for companies embarking on ventures and partnerships in the country. Firstly, China is a giant diversified market. The north is different from the south, while the middle area is not the same as the west. Its regional differences, multi-cultural diversity and variety make it unique. Unfortunately, foreign enterprises that invest in China do not have a good understanding of consumer needs or Chinese culture,”

explain Laulusa. For example, having lunch or dinner with local authorities and advisers or sending them bakery vouchers prior to a Chinese festival are considered common practices. But with Chinese higher education initiatives such as Project 985 and Project 211 — two projects designed to strengthen and develop higher education facilities in China — an increasing number of high standard professionals with a good understanding of western culture are now coming on stream. “They can help foreign companies to understand Chinese culture and how to cooperate with local Chinese companies. They are the future candidates of foreign enterprises in their localisation plans,” concludes Laulusa.

Why trading the Renminbi in London is good for UK business In January, Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to develop London as the major centre in Europe for trading the Chinese currency, the Renminbi (RMB). The City of London is set to see enormous beneﬁts in terms of status and flow of funds as trading in the currency improves liquidity. In addition, access to trading the RMB market and new yuan-products will help improve trade links for the many businesses in the UK that are planning or already export to or source goods from China. In practical terms, the plans will also see closer collaboration between London and Hong Kong — which already acts as a trading centre — as global use of RMB increases. The launch of a joint private-sector forum between HM Treasury and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will enhance cooperation between the two countries to support the Chinese government’s policy in the development of the offshore RMB market. In particular, the forum will focus on the two countries developing clearing and settlement systems, market liquidity and the development of new RMB denominated products. This article is taken from the March 2012 edition of Insight Out (www.insightoutmagazine.com), Mazars’ digital magazine. If you need more information, please contact Dany Sok, Marketing & Communication Manager – Mazars Greater China (dany.sok@mazars.com.hk)

Business

On Monday 23rd April 2012 the Environmental Affairs Panel of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) passed a motion requiring the Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA) to conduct a social return on investment (SROI) study, a carbon audit and a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for the proposed third runway at Hong Kong International Airport.

HONG KONG’S THIRD RUNWAY:

This decision is significant because plans to add a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport were shelved at least in part because a SROI study showed that the impacts on residents living near the airport outweighed the economic beneﬁts highlighted in the original proposals. HKAA ofﬁcials, all too aware of the outcome in London, have resisted conducting an SROI study despite repeated calls to do so. LegCo’s decision is also surprising because it had previously expressed support for the third runway during a meeting of the Panel on Economic Development in June 2011. In March 2012 the Executive Council gave its approval in principle, subject to the statutory requirements of the EIA process, for the third runway to go ahead. So why did a legislature which has been broadly supportive of the third runway decide that it needed more information that might derail the project?

far from a done deal

In short they were persuaded to do so by Hong Kong’s environmental NGOs (envNGOs). In mid-2011 the HKAA consulted the public on whether it should focus on optimising the current two runway system, or expand its capacity by adding a third runway. In December 2011 it released a survey report showing that over 70% of the 24,000 respondents supported the third runway. The envNGOs have not directly opposed the third runway, but they have expressed considerable concern over the further loss of habitat for the globally-threatened Chinese White Dolphin and the negative impacts on air quality and noise disturbance to residents living close to the airport and the ﬂight path.

An article in the April issue of Britain in Hong Kong suggested that, following the approval-in principle from the Legislative Council in March 2012 the construction of a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport was a done deal. In reality this is far from the case.

Mike Kilburn, Head of Environmental Strategy, Civic Exchange

In February 2011 WWF (HK) and Greenpeace released another public opinion survey, showing that 73% of the public was dissatisfied with the HKAAs information on the project’s social and environmental impacts. This was sufﬁcient to persuade LegCo’s Environmental Affairs Panel to hear their concerns. At this meeting eight envNGOs jointly called for the SROI, carbon audit and SEA. When questioned by legislators, both HKAA’s Chief Executive Stanley Hui and the Transport and Housing Bureau’s representatives insisted they would follow the statutory process – to limit their study to the requirements of the EIA Ordinance.

Britain in Hong Kong

of this concern were the judicial reviews challenging EPD’s approval of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau (HKZM) Bridge’s EIA in 2010, and the proposed incinerator at Shek Kwu Chau earlier this month. And herein lies the problem. Since its establishment in 1997, Hong Kong’s EIA process has been widely recognised as a world leader for assessing the environmental impact of individual projects. But elsewhere social and health impacts, carbon audits, and the cumulative impacts of multiple projects are routinely considered. Hong Kong has fallen far behind global best practice. To make matters worse, the Hong Kong public is increasingly aware and concerned about declining air quality – and with good reason. The Hedley Environmental Index shows background concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which compromises lung development in children, average 50% higher than the World Health Organisation’s Air Quality Guidelines, and are rising sharply.

Average ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in Hong Kong 2001- 2011

Source: Hedley Environmental Index HKAA’s preliminary report on air quality shows that failure to meet Hong Kong’s own, more permissive air quality objectives (AQO) is a very real possibility. It states that aircraft emissions can only meet the AQO for NO2 by reducing the third runway’s capacity by some 60 percent! Doubts are also growing that the gover nment’s development plans are truly sustainable. Most speciﬁcally, given the persistently high health impacts of air pollution and the long delay in introducing new air quality objectives the public’s conﬁdence that the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is an effective, or even committed, regulator of environmental standards is at an all-time low. The conflict of interest caused by the 2005 merging of the roles of the Director of Environmental Protection (the environmental regulator) and the Permanent Secretary for the Environment (responsible for implementing government policy) is of particular concern. The most visible expressions

Given the circumstances it is hardly surprising that LegCo and the envNGOs want more information on the environmental and social implications of the third runway. HKAA has known this since last summer’s consultations, but is yet to agree to conduct the requested studies. It will establish focus groups to discuss important issues arising during the EIA study, but the envNGOs are reluctant to spend further time in consultations if they think their views are to be treated in the same way. Recent history shows that developers who do not listen end up losing out. HKAA’s approach bears close similarities to KCRC’s refusal to consider alternative alignments in its EIA for the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line in 1999. That caused a two-year delay and HK$2 billion in additional costs. The legal challenge to the Bridge caused a nine-months delay and extra costs of almost HK$9 billion. This combination of rising public expectations for transparency and quality of life, declining air quality and growing distrust of regulators greatly increases the pressure on HKAA and the THB, whose “statutory compliance” response is looking as out of touch as the EIA process they would like to rely upon. That legislators of all parties, including Miriam Lau, who is also a board member of the HKAA, who spoke in support of the motion requiring the additional studies to be conducted suggests that the envNGOs have got this one right and it is HKAA, THB and the EIA process which must move with the times.

Stop press: On Friday 8 June the EIA process for the third runway was halted less than two weeks after it started when the EPD requested that Kong Kong Airport Authority provide more information in relation to the project profile. Once this has happened the whole process must begin again when HKAA issues a revised project profile. At the time of writing neither EPD nor HKAA had made any statement about the additional information required, but it is unlikely to be pure coincidence that several envNGOS made submissions outlining specific concerns over biodiversity, air quality and aircraft noise just few days earlier. A done deal? Not by long chalk.

Education

Kellett School The British International School in Hong Kong celebrates the construction of a new primary and secondary campus in Kowloon Bay with a Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony

On 10 May 2012 Kellett School, The British International School in Hong Kong, made a significant and important mark in its 35 year history. A ceremony was held at the new greenﬁeld site in Kowloon Bay to lay the Foundation Stone of its new Primary and Secondary campus. The ceremony was officiated by the Chief Executive Mr Donald Tsang, Secretary for Education Mr Michael Suen and British Consul-General Mr Andrew Seaton. Also presiding and representing the school were Chairman of the Kellett School Board of Governors Mr David Kidd and Principal Ms Ann Mc Donald.

school and excitement is mounting within the Kellett community. Ann McDonald says “The significance of today is shared across our community and the excitement is palpable. Today brings to fruition the desire to offer through train education and our Founding Parents’ vision to operate campuses on both sides of Hong Kong Harbour. I am delighted that we are able to share today with honoured guests and representative students, parents, colleagues and friends without whose support this project would not have been achievable.”

The site at the junction of Kwai Cheung Road and Wang Kwong Road, Kowloon Bay was granted to the Kellett School Association in August 2009 as part of the Education Bureau’s Third Allocation exercise to construct a primary cum secondary school to operate in addition to its existing Pokfulam primary campus.

Four years after its conception in 1976, Kellett School relocated to its present purpose built facility in Pok Fu Lam and has remained there ever since. As the reputation of the school grew, so too did its student body and in 2007 the school was granted temporary co-occupation of a campus in Shau Kei Wan, allowing the school to expand to include Secondary education.

The Foundation Stone Laying ceremony represents significant progression in the development of the new

The Kowloon Bay campus innovative design was conceived by award winning architect Joel Chan of P&T Architects

Britain in Hong Kong

and Engineers Ltd and offers state of the art facilities in order to support a rigorous academic education complimented by strong art and sports programmes. In addition to modern classrooms the design includes art and drama studios, a large auditorium, a six lane indoor swimming pool and roof top astroturf multisport area and running track, as well as modern science labs and an extensive library. Indoor multi-functional sky lit atrium spaces and outdoor gardens will give the new Primary and Secondary school a sense of space and privacy, scarcely found in a bustling city like Hong Kong. Kellett School continues to follow the National Curriculum of England, offering a broad range of IGCSE/GCSE I courses it has recently conﬁrmed its rigorous UK A Level programme — the launch of which will coincide with the opening of Kellett School Kowloon Bay. A broad subject

range has been ﬁnalised and will be accompanied by a Global Citizenship Programme, designed to give students qualifications, skills and experiences to enter leading Universities both in Hong Kong and across the globe. Kellett School prides itself on high academic standards, curriculum breadth and low student: teacher ratios and promises to maintain its mission to provide, A love of learning and confidence for life when it extends across the Harbour. The new campus forms part of the West Kowloon Development and is within walking distance of major transport hubs. The new campus will offer a two-form entry primary section with just over 300 places and a four form entry secondary section, offering up to 600 places and guaranteeing all Kellett Primary students a second1ary school place.

About Kellett School, the British International School in Hong Kong Kellett School was founded over thirty years ago as a not-for-profit Association by like-minded parents who sought a high quality British style international education, rich in the arts and delivered in a small school setting. The growing shortage of secondary places in Hong Kong prompted the Board to establish Kellett Secondary Section in 2007 and the students moved to the Shau Kei Wan transitional campus in 2009. In August 2012, the school will be offering Year 11 places in addition to Years 7-10. The School was awarded the Kowloon Bay greenﬁeld site in 2009 by the Hong Kong SAR Government to develop a four form Secondary Section and additional two form Primary Section offering approximately 600 secondary and an additional 300 primary school places. The secondary students will transfer from their current site in Shau Kei Wan to the Kowloon Bay Campus in September 2013 with the eldest cohort commencing A Level studies. By 2014 Kellett School will have completed its year on year roll out and will be a through train school.

The development of the Kowloon Bay campus permits Kellett School Association to; •

Guarantee a secondary school place for all Kellett School P6 pupils whether they are studying at the Pok Fu Lam or Kowloon Bay campus.

•

Provide a world class British (English National Curriculum) education designed to meet the needs of English speaking families in Hong Kong and support highly mobile expatriate families moving to and from Hong Kong throughout the year.

•

Provide 20 specialist places for children with moderate Special Educational Needs (as deﬁned by the UK SEN Code of Practice) offering the opportunity for siblings to be educated together regardless of academic ability.

•

Offer a further internationally recognised secondary curriculum adding to the curricular breadth and diversity available in Hong Kong international schools. Kowloon Bay will be academically non-selective and will be specifically designed to meet the needs of native English speaking dependents whose studies will continue in the UK or internationally.

Kellet School Contact: Primary School Secondary School 2 Wah Lok Path, Wah Fu, Pokfulam, Hong Kong 460 Shau Kei Wan Road, Shau kei Wan, Hong Kong Telephone: 2551 8234 Telephone: 3665 5300 Further more information is available at: http://www.kellettschool.com Media contact: Antonia Plunkett / Carman Chan, +852 2850 5990 antonia@communiquehk.com / carman@communiquehk.com

An education feature brought to you by YCIS well together, students learn about communication and cultural respect, which prepares them well for the modern, inclusive world.

YCIS

Prepares Students for a Multicultural Future The increasing pace of globalisation has made corporations the world over realise the importance of multiculturalism. Over the past decade or so, this new mindset has greatly affected the general direction of education and, as a result, international education and its new way of teaching have taken centre stage.

Co-Teaching helps develop bilingual and global-minded future world citizens

To prepare children for this wider world, it is of vital importance to provide them with both the ability to communicate with a vast number of people and a better understanding and acceptance of different cultural perspectives. At Yew Chung International School (YCIS), its Co-Principal and Co-Teaching models are two of the innovative approaches to nurturing bilingual and global-minded future world citizens. This progressive system provides students with the best of East and West in terms of language, customs and values. Innovative Co-Teaching Model Co-Teaching is implemented in Early Childhood Education and Primary Sections in order to help students develop this global perspective and mindset early in life. Walking into a classroom at YCIS, one is amazed to observe the young students speaking English and Chinese interchangeably. The school strongly believes students

Both Co-Teachers are fully qualiﬁed and work as equals

must prepare themselves and be equipped with diverse linguistic skills and keen cultural awareness in order to succeed in the globalised world. At YCIS, students become fluent in at least two languages: English and Chinese. This bilingualism is achieved by having two teachers, one Western and one Chinese, in one classroom in its Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Primary Sections. Both teachers are fully qualiﬁed and work as equals. The biggest benefit for students is an intuitive respect for another culture. But besides students, parents also benefit from having teachers from different cultures. The classes are not only bilingual, but are also bicultural learning environments where students discover their teachers’ cultures, values and customs. By having these two role models working

Dr. Betty Chan, Director of YCIS, b e l i e v e s b y e x p o s i n g c h i l d re n t o multicultural environments from a young age (as early as six-months old) they develop a deep and innate acceptance and appreciation of all cultures and perspectives. Dr. Chan stresses that teachers at YCIS must also lear n to accept and value their teaching partner’s cultural differences to be effective Co-Teachers.

Cross-cultural Appreciation Kam Oi Ping, Chinese Co-Principal of YCIS Early Childhood Education (ECE), believes that one key to successful CoTeaching is that, “Initially, both teachers must be able to accept each other’s culture without bias, judgment or predetermined notions. They must have agreement on issues relating to basic management, best teaching methods, important stages and expectations.” “This is not a simple, one-step process; teachers must be able to communicate with each other openly, frequently and with trust. It takes continued communication and patience but, once established, Co-Teaching teams offer enormous benefits to their students by creating a respectful bilingual and co-cultural learning environment,” Kam adds. Nicola Weir, Western Co-Principal of YCIS ECE, explains the advantages of this model: “Co-Teaching helps give our students cross-cultural appreciation. They notice that two people from different cultures and two languages communicate and teach well together as a cohesive team.” As well as this unique perspective, students also gain exceptional linguistic skills. Many techniques are used, such as songs, visuals and activities to help learners absorb both languages quickly and effectively. YCIS has a long and proud history of embracing innovative thinking in education going right back to its origins in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1932 on the theme of “East meets West”.

Lifestyle

Lucy Jackson, Director of Lightfoot Travel (HK)

Temples, tea plantations and tempting golden beaches – the charm of the Sri Lankan people adds to the already intoxicating blend of diversity that this island, located at the Southern tip of India, encompasses. Considering the complicated history of the Tamil Tigers and the horrendous effects of the tsunami, it is amazing to witness this country blossom. The people could not be friendlier and with a stable political system now in place, the country is on the road to recovery, with huge improvements to infrastructure (the drive from Colombo to Galle is now just 2 hours) and increases in investment – many in the form of new boutique hotels. Having done a recce over the Test matches in March and also over Easter, we thought we’d share our pick of the bunch and reveal our favourite hotspots.

COLOMBO & AROUND – The Wallawwa Nestled amongst acres of beautifully manicured gardens this antique colonial manor house is the best boutique hotel to relax in after a ﬂight into Sri Lanka. The food is simply divine and actually a one night stopover is not enough to sample their Sri Lankan curries or make the most of some pool downtime. Just 20 minutes from the international airport in Kotugoda and the spa therapists are on hand with their signature massages at ‘Z’, including traditional ayurvedic treatments. Lightfoot Travel recommends that clients experience the hustle and bustle of Colombo before heading back home. Delve into aments and the treasure trove of Paradise Road, stuffed with exotic paraphernalia of ornaments furniture for the home, followed by sunset drinks on the lawns of the Galle Face hotel to watch a magical display of ﬂuttering kites.

CULTURAL TRIANGLE – Jetwing Vil Uyana Just 4 hours North East of Sri Lankan’s capital City, lies the heart of the cultural triangle. Amongst a landscape of lakes and paddy ﬁelds is the eco-heaven Vil Uyana. Vil Uyana is a short drive away from the historic sites of Dambulla, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Our knowledgeable driver Ananda took us up to Sigiriya during the cool of a misty morning and introduced us to our guide who answered our neverending stream of questions about the ancient Sinhala kings who developed this area. Astounded by the history, the excursion was enhanced once again as we clambered up from the Lion’s paw to the top of Sigiriya rock and digested the staggering views of lush vegetation below and in the distance beyond – a scene etched in my memories – stunning in the sun-streaming dawn. We returned for lunch and a much deserved sunbathe before hitting the road once more.

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TEA TRAILS & SURROUNDINGS – Ceylon Tea Trails/Kandy House For utter R&R, the beautiful plantation bungalows of Ceylon Tea Trails in the hill country, are the ultimate stop for serenity and stunning scenery – a home away from home. The absolute is a combination of Castlereigh with a walk down to Norwood lodge for a split stay, experiencing the magical solitude of Ceylon tea land, 4000 metres above sea level, in the colonial bungalows built for the British tea managers in the days of the Raj. Playing croquet on the lawns, unwinding with a book in the gardens, visiting a factory for gentle education in the art of Ceylon tea, or spending an adventure ﬁlled day biking, trekking and whitewater rafting – there was a tonne to do and I’ll certainly be returning! As an antithesis to andy that, the town of Kandy at the epicentre of this region provides something different and Kandy House deserves a special mention – having drinks here one evening took me back to a quaint time in history. The Kandy House was once the seat of the King’s Chief Minister, Ratwatte Adigar, who betrayed his King to the British in the early 19th Century as Ceylon fell into colonial hands in 1815 – his family photos and antique furnishings still adorn this historic foothold.

GALLE & THE SOUTHERN COAST – Frangipani Tree / Sun House / Amangalla An infamous Dutch fort, now a tourist hot-spot with old school colonial charm and a chic boutique vibe – this is the perfect base from which to explore the Southern coast of Sri Lanka – pottering around the shops of Galle stocking up on gems at Laksana, with a spa treatment at Amangalla, cycling inland at Hiyare rainforest, a trip to the whale watching area of Mirissa and of course visiting the local beaches, including the favourite expat ‘hang-out’ of Wijaya. Frangipani Tree is great for tennis enthusiasts with its own court and beachfront access, whilst the Sun House is homely comfort personiﬁed with a country house atmosphere just on the fringes of Galle Fort. To be in the heart of the fort, you would be hard pressed to beat the exclusive Amangalla, of Aman resort fame – the deﬁnitive in service and luxury. Or take a private villa for family and friends for the ultimate in exclusivity. Makes a change from another Thailand villa holiday!

AND BEYOND… Yala National Park – Spot the elusive leopard (if you can!) at the first operation of mobile camping safaris in Sri Lanka. The country’s abundant wildlife is best seen in this National Park – elephants, bears and some of the best bird-watching in the world. Arugam Bay – a mecca for surfing enthusiasts. We have a great private villa rental here on the North East coast of Sri Lanka. East Coast – The idyllic beach escape of Maalu Maalu Resort & Spa opened last summer and was the first boutique property in Batticaloa after the dawn of peace in Sri Lanka. This traditional fishing backwater is a far-cry from the rest of the landscape and cultural heritage of Sri Lanka – get here first before the crowds! Our MD, Simon Cameron had the privilege of growing up in this colonial backwater and remembers his childhood there fondly, whilst instilling the passion of the country to the Lightfoot Travel team. I have to admit that it does not disappoint. It’s certainly worth getting your first hit of Sri Lanka and exploring the quieter part of the Indian subcontinent with its flourishing fauna and flora, plentiful walks, some culture vulture interest and exceptionally wild beaches.

Bespoke travel company Lightfoot Travel (www.lightfoottravel.com) is an Asia-based bespoke tour operator specialising in tailor-made holidays, honeymoons, short breaks, boutique accommodation and private villas in Asia and beyond. For more information please call +852 2815 0068 or email info@lightfoottravel.com

Lifestyle

CACAO SAMPAKA

Cacao Sampaka

is known among the connoisseurs as one of the best artisan

chocolates in the world. It is a haut chocolat from Spain, the brain child of the famous Albert Adrià, former El Bulli pastry chef and brother of Ferran Adria. The Adria brothers created the company in 2000 together with the design icon Pati Nunez and the famous pastry chef Sergio Gil. Their idea was to revive the rich culture surrounding cocoa and chocolate, using new ideas and techniques to make a very special product. They started producing chocolate and also opened shops (“Cocoa markets”), chic chocolate oases where you can taste a wide range of chocolate products, pastries and more. Using the finest cocoa available, a mindboggling selection of confectionery is categorised into exotic collections. The sleek packaging turns the chocolates into true objects of desire. The flagship store was opened in Barcelona in 2000, and since then several more shops have opened across Spain, Japan and the Middle East. Using only authentic cocoa and no artificial preservatives, Sampaka’s chocolatiers have created a whole variety of forms and flavours, all made by artisans in their small factory. They control the whole process of manufacturing from the selection of the cocoa beans through to the packaging of the product, which means the highest quality is guaranteed. Profood is an exclusive importer of the Cacao Sampaka portfolio, including their wide variety of chocolate bars as exotic as: milk chocolate with bergamot orange, or, for example, dark chocolate with salt flower from Ibiza, in addition to pure chocolates from a single origin. They also make chocolate bonbon collections with very innovative flavours such as truffle, balsamic vinegar, lavender, cinnamon & mandarin, and many more. For more details contact on info@profood.com.hk or visit www.profood.com.hk

Britain in Hong Kong

Interesting facts about chocolate: •

It takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate.

•

Because cocoa trees are so delicate, farmers lose, on average, 30 percent of their crop each year.

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Theobroma Cacao is the tree that produces cocoa beans: the name means “food of the gods.”

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Most cocoa – 70 percent – hails from West Africa.

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Cocoa leaves can move 90 degrees, from horizontal to vertical, in order to get sun and to protect younger leaves.

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Some cocoa trees are more than 200 years old, but most give marketable cocoa beans for only the ﬁrst 25 years.

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The price of cocoa can fluctuate daily, dramatically affecting farmers’ incomes.

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Cocoa beans were so valuable to early Mesoamericans that they were used as currency.

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A farmer must wait four to ﬁve years for a cocoa tree to produce its ﬁrst beans.

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The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature (98.6 degrees) — which is why it literally melts in your mouth.

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There are 3 different species of cocoa tree: Criollo, Forastero, Trinitario. Forastero is the stronger type of tree. This species is easy to cultivate and therefore forms the basic ingredient in most chocolate.

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Chocolate contains serotonin, which is responsible for feelings of wellbeing and contentment, as well as curbing anxiety and depression; it stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure. It also contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants

•

Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than red wine, green tea, pomegranate or blueberries. Recent studies suggest that antioxidants in foods may reduce the risk of many kinds of illness, from heart disease to cancer.

Member Discounts Food and Beverage and Accommodation Accor | Members will receive 10% discount on top of the lowest rates that Accor’s Asian hotels are offering on the day (5% off hotels outside Asia Pacific). This applies to over 1600 Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure & All Seasons hotels worldwide. For more information please contact Regina Yip on 2868 1171 or email regina.yip@accor.com Alfie’s | Members of the British Chamber of Commerce can benefit from a 10% discount at this chic restaurant in Hong Kong. Berry Bros. & Rudd | Members can benefit from a 10% discount on all retail prices as well as receiving invitations to free tastings and other wine events during promotional period. Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong | Members will receive a 10% discount on food only in MoMo Café. To make a reservation please call 3717 8888. Dot Cod | All Members of the British Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong will receive a 10% discount on the bill. For more information please call 2810 6988 or email dotcod@hkcc.org Grand Hyatt Hong Kong | 15% discount on food and beverage at The Grill and 10% discount on all a la carte treatments and spa merchandises at Plateau Spa. To make a reservation please contact the Grill on 2584 7722 or the Plateau Spa on 2584 7688 Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui | 10% discount at The Chinese Restaurant, Hugo’s, Cafe and Chin Chin Bar (except during happy hour). To make a reservation please call 2311 1234 JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong | Members will receive a 10% discount on the total bill at Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, JW’s California, Marriott Cafe, The Lounge, Riedel Room @ Q88, and the Fish Bar & Grill. To make a reservation please call 2810 8366. Le Méridien Cyberport | Members can book a Smart Room at the special rate of HKD1,600 including a daily eye-opening buffet breakfast (subject to availability). You will also receive 20% discount at 5 of the hip restaurants and bars that the hotel has to offer. Furthermore, when you book the 21-day long room package at HKD23,100 you will receive a ‘Round Trip Limousine Service’. For more details please call 2980 7785. Hong Kong Skycity Marriott Hotel | Members will receive a 10% discount on the total bill at Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, SkyCity Bistro, Velocity Bar & Grill, and The Lounge (Promotion does not apply to alcoholic beverages). To make a reservation please call 3969 1888. Renaissance Harbour View Hotel | Members will receive a 10% discount on the total bill at Michelin Star Dynasty Chinese Restaurant, all day dining at Cafe Renaissance, Scala Italian Restaurant and the Lobby Lounge. To make a reservation please call 2802 8888. The Mira Hong Kong | Members will be given special room rates, a complimentary upgrade and fantastic discounted rates on the Spa suite package (subject to availability). For more information please contact Connie Kwan on 2315 5666 or email connie.kwan@themirahotel.com W Hong Kong | Members will receive fantastic offers at Kitchen and Sing Ying. Dine at either of these restaurants and receive complimentary discount vouchers to use at your next meal. For more information or to make a reservation please call 3717 2222.

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There are many great benefits of being a member of The British Chamber of Commerce. One of those is the Member Benefits program which is an exclusive package of discounts that range from discounted car rental, reduced hotel accommodation, airfares and even relocation costs. Every six months we invite members to prepare a tailor made offer to all the members of the British Chamber. You can find these benefits listed below and for more details please visit our website www.britcham.com

Home Allied Pickfords Hong Kong | For any Home Search completed by SIRVA Relocation, members will receive a FREE local move. Please call 2823 2077 or email homesearch@sirva.com Bowers & Wilkins | B & W are offering members a 10% discount on all listed price items in the B&W Showrooms in Tsim Sha Tsui and Central. For more information please call 3472 9388 or 2869 9916 Colourliving | As a member of the British Chamber of Commerce, you can enjoy a 10% discount on all normal price merchandise when shopping at colourliving in Wanchai. Please call 2510 2666 or visit www.colourliving.com

Travel & others Avis | Members can receive up to 20% discount off standard rates on car rental bookings. To make a booking please call 28822927 or visit www.avis.com.hk British Airways | As a member of the British Chamber of Commerce you can enjoy an exclusive offer from British Airways. To make a booking please visit www.britcham. com/memberdiscount/british-airways Carey | As the world’s finest chauffeured services company Carey are pleased to offer Britcham members a 10% discount on the base rate of any service, anywhere in the world. For more information please call the international reservations team on +800 0123 4578 or email international.support@carey.com Compass Offices | Compass Offices, a premium serviced office provider, are offering members a one month free Serviced Office space or three months free with a Virtual Office Package. For more information please call 3796 7188 or email hksales@compassoffices.com Flight Centre | Members will receive HKD150 off the first booking made as well as a complimentary Airport Express ticket per booking. For all holiday and flight enquiries please call Paul Jeffels on 2830 2793 or email paul.jeffels@flightcentre.com.hk Virgin Atlantic Airways | Special offers to London are available exclusively for members of the British Chamber of Commerce. Please call 2532 6060 for more details or to make a reservation. VisitBritain | British Chamber members can enjoy a 5% discount on all purchases from the VisitBritain online shop. Please call 3515 7815 or visit www.visitbritaindirect.com for further information.

Terms and Conditions apply. All member discounts are subject to availability. If you are interested in providing a tailored offer to our members or for more information please contact Emily Ferrary on 2824 1972 or email emily@britcham.com

MEMBER GET MEMBER 2012 the to l a rr fe re l u sf es cc su a ke a M British Chamber of Commerce o! tw r fo l ea m ic st ta n fa a y and enjo The British Chamber is delighted to announce that the Member Get Member 2012 campaign is well underway! If you successfully introduce a company that results in them becoming a member of the Chamber, you will receive a fantastic dinner for two courtesy of one of our top member restaurants in Hong Kong. Not only that, all referring members will be entered into a prize draw to win a $2,000 voucher to go towards your holiday provided by Flight Centre!

AND if you happen to refer the most new members to the Chamber, you are in for a real treat for you and your friends! A complimentary dinner for four at Sakesan, the newest Robatayakibar, courtesy of Cafe Deco Group.

Sakesan Sakesan is the newest Robatayakibar in the heart of the bustling Soho area. It offers a range of exquisite dishes fresh from their robata grill, as well as other Japanese culinary delights, all rendered with a modern twist. Designed by Fiona Bagaman and Mirei Lim, Sakesan uses different wood and stone tones with ﬂashes of black and gold to create a serene, relaxed and cool space. Funky, colourful sake barrels wrap the bar area and frame the individual dining booths and an illuminated Japanese urban scene gives the bar a warm glow as well as striking visuals. Signature dishes include homemade steamed tofu, salmon miso, lobster dumplings and SAKESAN black cod. There is also a cool bar featuring a top range of sakes, shochus and awamoris with a superb range of cocktails made with these classic Japanese ingredients. To compliment this they also offer a selection of some of the ﬁnest, most thirst quenching beers to emerge from Japan.

To enter: • • • • •

Consider who among your contacts might be interested in joining the Chamber Email dovenia@britcham.com with the name and contact details of your suggested company If appropriate, contact your suggested company and let them know that the Chamber will be in touch The Chamber will follow up with each suggestion directly If your referral is successful, the Chamber will contact you with details of how to book your dinner. Your name will also go into the prize draw which will be drawn in March 2013.

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So what are you waiting for? Spread the word throughout your network to enjoy a complimentary meal for two at one of these fantastic member restaurants:

Lobby Lounge, Conrad Hong Kong Featuring the spectacular views of the Hong Kong skyline and live entertainment, the Lobby Lounge is the ideal venue for private meetings or relaxed gatherings with friends. From salad bar to noodle station, and delectable hot dishes to exquisite desserts, the Southeast Asian themed supper buffet showcases an impressive range of more than 50 scrumptious all-time favourites.

The Bostonian, The Langham, Hong Kong This well-established restaurant has been a Hong Kong favourite for well over a decade. Located at the lower lobby level of The Langham, Hong Kong, The Bostonian has an excellent reputation for its superb steaks, and more recently its fully sustainable seafood menu. Featured by one of Hong Kong’s inﬂuential restaurant bibles, “The Hong Kong Best Restaurant Guide” since 2000 and recommended by The Michelin guide, the Bostonian is a hallmark for impeccable service and exceptional food. Guests can indulge in a tantalising array of fresh seafood from around the world at the “Raw Bar”, including home-made smoked salmon, prawns, crabs and freshly shucked oysters. The enticing menu also includes gourmet favourites such as maine crab cakes, sautéed foie gras, clam chowder, as well as separate menus for the restaurant’s specialties – the Boston lobster galore, seafood sharing platters and Bostonian grill.

KITCHEN, W Hong Kong Kitchen is a modern bistro with a capacity of 200, reflective of W’s signature stylish and fun design. Upon arrival to KITCHEN, the mad hatter’s tea party in “Alice in Wonderland” brings guests to a world of fantasy. Cats play and jump around the stacks of plates, inviting guests to join their games too. KITCHEN’s modern interpretation of timeless classics and equally innovative original masterpieces ﬁll a menu that’s designed to tantalize and satisfy even the most discerning gourmands. Guest can indulge in the fun world of kitchen, while relaxing in the pleasant and interactive dining experience, sampling the delicate cuisine on offer from all over the world.

cafe TOO, Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong T The innovative cafe TOO brings casual dining to a higher level of creativity. Their ten cooking theatres, each featuring a different culinary style, are showcases for the best of international cuisine as well as stages for their chefs' engaging performances.

Café Renaissance, Renaissance Harbour View Hotel Hong Kong Café Renaissance is the perfect place for all day dining. Located on the Mezzanine ﬂoor, the 210-seat all-day dining café serves a wide variety of dishes from all over the world. Café Renaissance serves wholesome breakfasts, chef crafted lunches and dinner buffets plus à la carte menu daily and brunch on weekends, in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. In addition to the great array of fresh seafood delights using the freshest ingredients, guests can also enjoy a tantalizing array of international favourites and local specialties from live cooking stations.

Terms & Conditions • • • •

You must be a member of the British Chamber to be eligible for this offer The dining vouchers will only be provided if your referral results in a new member for the Chamber This offer is valid for all members whose referral results in a new Corporate, Overseas or Startup member of the Chamber. It does not apply to Additional members or additional YNetwork members The Chamber will allocate the restaurant vouchers. Members will not be able to choose which restaurant they visit and must adhere to the terms and conditions

THE BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND STANDARD CHARTERED BANK ANNUAL BALL 2012 ♥

Friday 8th June 2012 Grand Ballroom, The Grand Hyatt 7:30pm - Late Dress Code: Themed Fancy Dress – Camelot Chic

With thanks to our sponsors: Title Sponsors:

Gold Sponsors:

Silver Sponsors:

Other Sponsors and Supporters:

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Many thanks to the following companies who donated prizes for the Annual Ball 2012

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Events

The Jones Lang LaSalle

5-a-side Corporate Football Tournament 2012 Wednesday 23rd May saw the return of the annual Ynetwork Corporate 5-aside football tournament held at the Hong Kong Football Club. This year 14 teams were involved in a nail biting series of matches, with various levels of ability on show to keep spectators entertained throughout the evening. From the night congratulations must go to Barclays who managed to fend off Prudential Corporation Asia to take home the plate, and in the cup competition it was Crown Worldwide Group that claimed the honours after a hotly contested ďŹ nal with the Jardine Ruby Murrays. After the football, players and supporters enjoyed a well-deserved drink and dinner buffet put on by the Hong Kong Football Club to celebrate their efforts and performance. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the players and supporters that attended this year. The British Chamber sincerely appreciates your continued support of this event which has now become a favorite in the Ynetwork calendar. Also we would not be able to continue this hugely popular event without the support of our sponsors Jones Lang LaSalle. So a huge thank you to them for their fantastic backing of this event over the last 7 years. Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you next year. For more information about YNetwork events, please contact Lucy Jenkins on lucy@britcham.com

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Events

YNetwork ‘Head of the Table’ Hosted by Mr. Jeremy Sheldon – Managing Director for Markets, Asia Pacific, Jones Lang LaSalle Limited, on 3 May 2012 by Michael Chi On Wong, YNetwork Committee

The ‘Head of the Table' returned for the ﬁrst time in 2012 in an extraordinary fashion! Conceived with the objective of providing a forum where young executives can interact closely and learn from key leaders of business organisations in Hong Kong, the ‘Head of the Table’ is a signature event spearheaded by the British Chamber’s YNetwork. On Thursday, 3 May 2012, ten fortunate YNetwork members had the privilege of embarking on a junk hosted by Mr. Jeremy Sheldon (Managing Director for Markets, Asia Pacific, Jones Lang LaSalle) and his lovely wife, Alex, for an elating evening of words of wisdom and gastronomic delight. Jeremy is incontestably a prominent figure in Hong Kong’s business community. At Jones Lang LaSalle – the top international firm specialising in real estate services and investment management, his areas of responsibility include business development, strategic consulting, corporate capital markets and transaction management. In the Chamber, he is an active member and director of the General Committee and Chairman of the Real Estate Committee. He also participates in the Greater China Committee of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Against a backdrop of breath-taking twilight at the Aberdeen Boat Club, the evening began with lighted-hearted and friendly conversations before the junk departed for Deep Water Bay, where a sumptuous dinner was kindly provided. In the midst of glowing coastal lights and gentle sea breezes, Jeremy started recounting his past experiences since he left the UK for Hong Kong in 1990. Upon joining Jones Lang LaSalle, he performed various roles as he moved his way up the career ladder to then become Business Development Director for the company’s transactions business in Asia Pacific. In 2006, he was appointed Head of the International Desk in New York, and was in charge of a start-up for global sales and business development, until his return to Hong Kong in 2009. For Jeremy, Hong Kong has always been a dynamic city with so much diversity that it well deserves to be called a

‘melting pot’. It is not only a centre for global business, but above all, a place that embodies the seamless fusion of Eastern and Western cultures – something that he thinks is unmatched by other cities in the world. Eager to learn more about Jeremy’s career and life experience, the young executives raised questions with avid interest. Ms. Alison Asome, Chair of YNetwork, asked about Jones Lang LaSalle’s business and Jeremy’s philosophy of life, whilst others were curious about Jeremy’s opinion on topics such as Hong Kong and Asia’s economy, and talent management. Jeremy gave each question an in-depth and perceptive answer, illustrating his thoughts with both practical examples and interesting anecdotes. When it comes to talent management, for instance, he particularly prized loyalty as one of the important characteristics in an employee because it would help companies achieve long-term winning results in an increasingly volatile business environment. He also underscored the advantages of having small but efﬁcient teams within an organisation’s structure. Jeremy did not hesitate to share words of advice with the young executives. Aside from loyalty, Jeremy highlighted patience, tenacity and humility as invaluable qualities in the business world today. He detailed episodes in his career that were significant to him, where he had to resolutely endure difficult circumstances and move unwearyingly forward to pursue growth in both life and business. From this, the young executives all gained encouraging insights into how they might prepare for the opportunities and challenges awaiting them further along their career paths. The YNetwork is immensely thankful to Jeremy and Alex for their company, support and hospitality that made the evening such a memorable occasion. The special event setting and location enabled an unfettered exchange of brilliant ideas and heart-to-heart conversations that will certainly beneﬁt the young executives in the years to come. If you would like to know more about YNetwork events, please email Lucy Jenkins at lucy@britcham.com

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Perspective Interview with Barry Stowe, Chief Executive, Prudential Corporation Asia What are your plans for Prudential in the region in the coming year? We have a value-driven strategy, focused on distribution, products and customer engagement. It’s fairly simply articulated both internally and externally. Our plan this year is to continue that focus, and to continue being more efﬁcient and more productive. That’s what has been driving our growth and will continue to do so going forward. Which areas of Asia are you most engaged with? We try to be deeply engaged everywhere we do business, and that’s thirteen different markets across the region. If you look at where we generate the strongest results, that’s Southeast Asia plus Hong Kong. In most of these areas we are the market leader in terms of new business market shares. Southeast Asia is our most profitable and fastest growing region, so we sometimes refer to that area as our ‘sweet spot’. In Asia, we also have a great business in China and a market-leading business in India as well. In terms of new business sales, Prudential is the largest life insurer in Asia. How did Prudential become so successful here? Insurance companies don’t have a particular product advantage. We don’t have special technology or anything that can be patented, so any ‘new’ product is easily replicated. Our business is really about people. It’s about building larger and higher quality distribution capabilities than our competitors. It’s about having a strong focus on what customers want and need. Importantly, it’s also about the culture of the organisation – ie. avoiding complacency. Even as we have grown to be a market-leader across the region, we have deliberately preserved the entrepreneurial mentality of small businesses. We’ve had a foothold in Asia since the early 20th century, but as recently as the late 1990s those business interests were actually very small. There was a step-change in the late 1990s and early 2000s. We really gained scale in Asia around 2003/2004 and it’s rapidly accelerated. How does the British Chamber of Commerce add value to your business? The Chamber does a great job and plays an important role in the community here. It’s very important in consolidating the points of view of the British industry here in the market, and articulating that point of view to policy-makers in the government. There’s a networking element that is terrific in terms of commerce and social life. I was at the Captain of Industry luncheon the other day, chatting with some of the

The British Chamber’s Sterling Members

Thank you for your continued support

great and good of British industry in the local market place. Those kinds of opportunities are just invaluable. These are efficient and high quality events. How long have you been living here? I’m in my fourteenth year in Hong Kong. I came here straight from New York. And where do you spend most of your time now? I’m based here in Hong Kong but I spend roughly a week out of every month in London, and then another couple of weeks somewhere else in Asia. What’s your favourite spot in Hong Kong? The chair in my living room. I look straight down through Central to the harbour. I can even see our, may I say, majestic harbour-front sign in Tsim Sha Tsui which shines straight in front of where I’m sitting. Hong Kong has a stunning urban landscape – the combination of mountains and water and unique architecture. What’s the biggest change you’ve noticed since you’ve been here? The harbour’s getting smaller - there have been a lot of very interesting buildings going up. I arrived in the midst of the Asian financial crisis, and just when we seemed to be out of the doldrums, then SARS came along. We stuck it out here the whole time. Now, when you look at what’s being accomplished in this market and around the region in the face of some signiﬁcant global macro-economic headwinds. And this city is the crossroads, but it continues to maintain its vibrancy as a ﬁnancial centre. What’s something you’ve learned recently that you didn’t know before. What’s really dawned on me in the last couple of years is the scope of opportunity through CSR activities and community engagement to improve the quality of life around Asia. Over the last three years we have been driving our organisation in a different direction. Rather than just donating money, we’ve started arranging large scale volunteer programmes. We work with NGOs and form volunteer teams with employees from all over the region for example. Most recently they’ve been working in Japan, and before that in Padang, Indonesia after the earthquake there. It can have positive impacts on communities and positive impacts on the culture of the organisation – that much is widely recognised.

News Nick Sallnow-Smith elected as British Chamber of Commerce Chairman 2012-2013 The British Chamber of Commerce held its Annual General Meeting on Thursday 24th May 2012 at the Hong Kong Club, electing Nick Sallnow-Smith was as the newly appointed Chairman for 2012-2013. In the Chairman’s report, Kevin Taylor looked back on a busy and successful year for the Chamber and thanked the members for their continued support over the past two years of his Chairmanship. A ballot was held to elect the new members of the General Committee and Chairman. The results are announced below: Chairman: Vice Chairman: Vice Chairman: Treasurer: Elected Directors:

Nicholas Sallnow-Smith, The Link Management Ltd Andrew Weir, KPMG Mark Greenberg, Jardine Matheson Ltd Andrew Weir, KPMG Anne Kerr, Mott MacDonald Hong Kong Ltd Christopher Pratt, John Swire & Sons (HK) Ltd David Dodwell, Strategic Access Ltd David Watt, DTZ Derek Smyth, Gammon Construction Ltd Duncan Abate, Mayer Brown JSM Geoffrey Riddell, Zurich Financial Services Ltd Jeremy Sheldon, Jones Lang LaSalle Paul Brough, Blue Willow Ltd Robert Gazzi, PricewaterhouseCoopers Timothy Peirson-Smith, Executive Counsel Ltd

Luminous Wins Four Awards at Marketing Magazine’s Agency of the Year 2012 Luminous Experiential Marketing Communications announced today that it has won 3+1 Awards (3 for Hong Kong and 1 for Singapore) across various categories at the Marketing Magazine’s Agency of the Year (AOTY) Awards 2012 held in Singapore on 16 May and in Hong Kong on 29 May 2012. The full service boutique agency won the Silver Event Marketing Agency of the Year “M” cube in Hong Kong and snapped up the top honours as Local Hero. Both Singapore and Hong Kong offices each won a MARKie Awards in the Best Creative Idea for Business Events category in recognition of the outstanding accomplishment for Great Eastern and DHL Express. The Marketing Agency of the Year Awards is an annual industry event organised by Marketing Magazine, which recognizes the excellence and effectiveness of agencies. “If your agency actually takes home a coveted “M” cube…you’re in an exclusive club in esteemed company.” stated Matt Eaton, Group Editor, Marketing Magazine, who calls the awards ‘the region’s leading barometer of agency performance’.

Flight Centre Opens New Store in Happy Valley GLOBAL leisure travel specialist Flight Centre is set to open its second Hong Kong store, following strong demand for expatriate travel services at its ﬂagship Central store. Flight Centre has been in Hong Kong since 2009, with leisure travel consultants operating from a dedicated call centre. Since opening the ﬁrst bricks and mortar store on Caine Road, Central in March this year, sales have exceeded expectations with a high volume of expatriate travel bookings. This has prompted the company to boost its presence with the opening of a second store located in Happy Valley on May 28.

New name and new identity for Purcell Miller Tritton As part of their business development Purcell Miller Tritton has changed its name and visual identity. The change follows a perception survey undertaken by both staff and clients to debate the company’s identity after six decades of trading. Wanting to continue the legacy of Purcell, the company’s founder, Donovan Purcell, the company have changed their visual identity to reflect more accurately their business strategy: an evolving business mix of heritage consultancy, conservation, and new contemporary architecture. Encapsulating their brand strategy, in particular their value of being ‘one family in bespoke and progressive ways’, Purcell is also recognising the aspirations of their next generation, the successors of the practice. Visit Purcell’s new website www.purcellhk.com to ﬁnd out more.

Challenge for media companies in how to implement their digital strategies However television broadcast advertising and newspaper advertising predicted to grow strongly in Hong Kong through to 2016 According to PwC’s annual Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2012-2016, released today, digital opportunities are now well understood by media companies, advertising agencies and advertisers themselves: the industry is approaching the ‘end of the digital beginning’ as rising comfort levels with digital mean that it is becoming business-as-usual. Although the ‘fog’ experienced in the past few years around strategic options is lifting, there is more to be done: today’s challenge is in the implementation of those digital strategies. Although the report noted that Hong Kong continues to be greatly influenced by its print newspapers, it also recognised the ubiquitous use of digital technology both here and in developed regions across the world. Marcel Fenez, Global Leader, Entertainment & Media, PwC, said: “We’ve reached the point at which talking specifically about ‘digital’ increasingly misses the point. As digital becomes the standard, its rising penetration ceases to be a topic for discussion in itself. What matters now is how companies capitalise on it and operate within it.” The Hive Settles in Hong Kong Constant Tedder, the former CEO of Jagex who sold his computer games business for over £10m (HK$99m), has now turned his attention to managing a small business – the Hive – in Hong Kong. The 42-year-old has also launched the app startup ExpenseMagic, one of the UK business app success stories last year. Tedder’s Jagex has created the world-renowned online fantasy game Runescape and his ExpenseMagic is an innovative app which makes the trial of filing users’ expenses simple and fast. Now he has set foot in Hong Kong for his new project – the Hive, a stylish boutique serviced office designed in a distinctly British style. Designed by London-based interiors Alexander Waterworth, a designer well known for his ability of making spaces that flourish both functionally and aesthetically, The Hive provides a comfortable place to work and an inspiring community to belong to. Tailor-made for creative freelancers, dynamic start-ups and established 1-3 man companies, the Hive is a place for the community of members to work, meet and share ideas.

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New Members CORPORATE

ADDITIONAL

YNETWORK

Agile 8 Consulting Limited Kevin Moore Chief Executive Tel 9177 1342 kevin.moore@agile8consulting.com Suite 7B, 7/F, 235 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Consultancy

Equinix HK Ltd Alex Murchie Sales Operations Director Tel 2970 7740 amurchie@ap.equinix.com Suite 6504-07, 65/F, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Computer / Technology / IT

Colliers International (Hong Kong) Ltd James Murray Negotiator Tel 9416 5418 james.murray@colliers.com Suite 5701, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Property / Real Estate Services

Equinix HK Ltd Lorraine Little-Bigelow Regional Public Relations Director, Asia Paciﬁc Tel 2970 7742 llittlebigelow@ap.equinix.com Suite 6504-07, 65/F, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Computer / Technology / IT

Mace Limited Chau Nguyen Regional Bid Manager, Asia Paciﬁc Tel 2868 9720 chau.nguyen@macegroup.com Room 1101, 11/F, East Town Building, 41 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Construction

Equinix HK Ltd Todd Handcock Chief Marketing Ofﬁcer, VP Marketing & Strategy Asia Paciﬁc Tel 2970 7760 thandcock@ap.equinix.com Suite 6504-07, 65/F, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Computer / Technology / IT Harvey Nash (Hong Kong) Ltd. Nick Marsh Managing Director Tel 2251 8393 nick.marsh@harveynash.com Level 19, 2 IFC, Central, Hong Kong Executive Search Brunswick Group Limited Tim Payne Managing Partner, Head of Asia Tel 3512 5018 tpayne@brunswickgroup.com 12/F, Dina House, 11 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong Management Consultants

STARTUP Standout Personnel Limited Samantha Cornelius Managing Director Tel 9860 7984 sam@standoutinternships.com 37G, Seabird Lane, Discovery Bay, Hong Kong Recruitment Zenlinx Nicholas Cohen-Addad CEO Tel 3902 3537 zenlinx@zenlinx.com 1302 Universal Trade Centre, 3-5 Arbuthnot Road, Central, Hong Kong Business Services The Hive Constant Tedder Founder Tel 9356 7883 constant@thehive.com.hk 19th & 21st Floor, 23 Luard Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Business Services Blue Willow Ltd Paul Brough Chief Executive Tel 2319 1113 paulbrough@bluewillowhk.com 11/F, Waga Commercial Centre, 99 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong Accounting

Harvey Nash (Hong Kong) Ltd. Kirti Lad Director Tel 2251 8392 kirti.lad@harveynash.hk Level 19, 2 IFC, Central, Hong Kong Executive Search Thomson Reuters Hong Kong Limited Jean-Luc Gustave Managing Director Tel 2843 6503 jean-luc.gustave@thomsonreuters.com 10/F, Cityplaza 3, Taikoo Shing, Taikoo, Hong Kong Financial Services Thomson Reuters Hong Kong Limited Henry Fu Director Tel 2843 6405 henry.fu@thomsonreuters.com 10/F, Cityplaza 3, Taikoo Shing, Taikoo, Hong Kong Financial Services Barclays Garth Hughes Director, Multinational Corporates Tel 2903 2418 garth.hughes@barcap.com 41/F, Cheung Kong Center, 2 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong Banking

INDIVIDUAL Kevin Smith Tel 6051 6633 kevinsmith@asia.com 1301 Bank of America Tower, 12 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong

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Upcoming Events Women in Business Networking Lunch

Regulatory Trends 2012

Event date: 21/06/2012 - 12:30 - 14:30 Venue: ToTT’s and Roof Terrace, The Excelsior Hong Kong, Causeway Bay

Event date: Tue, 26/06/2012 - 08:00 - 09:15 Venue: Red Room, 2/F, The Hong Kong Club Speaker: Jill Wong, Counsel, King & Wood Mallesons

Come and join the Women In Business Networking Lunch, a great chance to network with fellow female chamber members. This month WiB is visiting ToTT’s and Roof Terrace where guests will be treated to a delicious two course lunch. Located at the top of The Excelsior Hong Kong, on the 34th ﬂoor. Female members and friends are invited to come and meet other chamber members and non-members alike, to promote themselves and their business in a friendly, relaxed environment.

This presentation will look at topical issues and likely risks for Hong Kong’s financial services industry and listed companies. It will also touch on the ongoing regulatory reforms, such as sponsor liability for prospectuses, the new Financial Dispute Resolution Centre and enhanced self-reporting obligations.

Hong Kong’s Anti-money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance - Ask not for whom the bell tolls? Event date: 28/06/2012 - 08:00 - 09:15 Venue: Red Room, 2/F, The Hong Kong Club Speaker: Neville Sarony, QC SC, Head of π Chambers

Securitisations, CDOs, Derivatives and the Global Financial Crisis Event Date: Friday 22 June 2012, 8:00 - 9:15am Venue: Red Room, 2/F, The Hong Kong Club Speaker: Kingsley Ong, Partner, Eversheds Despite best efforts by world governments, the global financial crisis of 2007 seems far from over. What started out as a US subprime mortgage loan crisis in 2007 has culminated in the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 and resulted in massive government bailouts of huge and highly regarded financial institutions. This crisis has erupted and evolved into a sovereign crisis and is now even threatening the future of the European Union. Complex financial instruments called Securitisations, CDOs and Derivatives have been widely blamed for causing this crisis. What are these instruments, and how did they cause a financial crisis on such a massive scale? Kingsley Ong is a Partner of international law firm Eversheds. Kingsley’s practice focuses on all types of structured financings and derivative products. He was recently distinguished in the US Court as a leading derivatives and structured finance lawyer. In addition to setting up complex securitisations and derivative products, Kingsley has extensive experience in defaulted securitisations, insolvency workouts, unwinding complex securitisation structures, and close-out of derivative, repo and securities lending contracts. He has been advising the Liquidators of Lehman Brothers and MF Global on the unwinding of complex financial instruments since their collapse.

The AMLO came into effect on April 1st this year. The objective of this presentation, within the constraints of time, is to consider the ramifications of non-compliance, especially the exposure to criminal prosecution and what, if any, systems can be put in place to minimise vulnerability to the sanctions in the armoury of the Securities and Future Commission. Neville Sarony QC SC, head of π Chambers. After obtaining an LLB(Hons) at LSE, he was called to the English Bar and practiced in Chambers headed by Marven Everett QC, Wilfrid Fordham QC, Robin Stewart QC and George Carmen QC. He is an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nepal. In 1985 he was called to the Hong Kong Bar. In 1992 he became Queen’s Counsel and was appointed a Recorder of the Crown Court of England and Wales. He has extensive experience in both Criminal and Civil jurisdictions having conducted litigation at all levels between Magistrates and the Privy Council and Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. He was a member of the English Criminal Bar Special Committee on Home Office references, The Criminal Bar Association, Old Bailey Bar Mess, Professional Negligence Bar Association and past Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Personal Injury Committee.

Shaken Not Stirred Networking Drinks Event date: 28/06/2012 - 18:30 - 20:30 Venue: The Hive, 21st Floor, The Phoenix Building, Wan Chai Join us for our monthly networking drinks event at The Hive! The Hive is Hong Kong’s ﬁrst dedicated workspace for creatives, start-ups and freelancers to mingle and work in a comfortable and inspiring setting.

New Appointments Richard Burton is appointed Manager of the Asia Pacific Platform

Tanner De Witt announces the appointment of two new partners

Ted Hodgkinson to join Swiss Re Corporate Solutions as Head of Asia Pacific

Richard Burton has been appointed Manager for the Asia Paciﬁc Platform since the 1st of June 2012. He held the position of Deputy Manager up until he took over from Jean-Claude Speitel who retired at the end of May.

The promotion of E d m o n d L e u n g and Jonathan Gray increases Hong Kong based law firm Tanner De Witt’s partnership to eleven, further boosting the firm’s capability to serve its growing client base. Edmond Leung advises on mergers, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, re-organisations, private equity transactions and debt finance, as well as general corporate and commercial matters. Jonathan Gray, has extensive experience in arbitration, commercial litigation and dispute resolution. Richard Tanner, Head of the Corporate and Commercial Group said, “Both Edmond and Jonathan have the right mix of senior experience and commitment to client care that is at the heart of our firm’s culture. We are proud to welcome them to the partnership.”

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has announced the appointment of Ted Hodgkinson as Head of Asia Paciﬁc, based in Singapore. Mr. Hodgkinson is a highly knowledgeable insurance professional with extensive management experience in Asia Paciﬁc. He joins from Aon Asia, where he forged a successful 10-year career and most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Broking Officer, with responsibility for various specialty teams as well as for driving growth in key markets.

Richard Burton has a degree in mathematics and a MBA from Cass Business School in London. He joined Coface in 1993 after a career in defence engineering, information technology and at the London Stock Exchange. In London and then in Paris, he was in charge of several Coface roll-out projects worldwide in the International Department. He then moved to Hong Kong in 1999 to build up Coface’s activities in China, He developed strong relationships there (the most notable one with the insurer Ping An) and had an important role in making Coface a well known player on the Chinese market. Richard Burton will be in charge of continuing the international development of the Coface Group in Asia Paciﬁc where Coface is number one in Credit Insurance in all of the countries where it is present.

Mr. Hodgkinson will be responsible for further strengthening Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ strategic thrust in the emerging and mature markets of the vast Asia Pacific region. He will report to the head of Swiss Re Corporate S o l u t i o n s ’ R e g i o n s & S p e c i a l t y, R u d o l f Flunger, and will join the Corporate Solutions Management Team.

Britain in Hong Kong

Shaken Not Stirred Sponsored By

April 26 2012, CENTRAL/CENTRAL. Pedder Street

Mandy Queen (CRED Communications), Joanna Bowers (Cheeky Monkey)

Patrick Lam (A & Q Partnership), Haike Jiong (Vance Info)

Alastair Drew (Vision Brands), Cedric Roll (8 Securities)

Holly Millward (Fast Track), Sally Jones (Fast Track), Niko Penttinen (Compass Offices)

Ben Todhunter (The Henley Group), Karan Talwar (KPMG), Stuart Northrop (Sweett (China) Ltd), Rafael Dressler (A&Q Partnership)

Sam Clothier (Standard Life Investments), Jacquie Garrett (Standard Life Investments), David Peng (Standard Life Investments), Taffeny Leung (BT)

Priscilla Wong (Kreab & Gavin Anderson), Rachel Morgan (Leo Burnett), Tracey Miller Rosa Shih (Morgan Capital) (Morgan Stanley), Jayne McDermott (Robeco)

Samantha Cornelius (Stand Out Hong Kong), Elise Van Stolk (Santa Fe)

Jim Whiffin (Midas), Alex Silcox (Kleio)

Dixie Chan, Kit Solabarrieta (Solex International)

Michael Wong (Oxford University Press), Phoebe Chan (Drug Education Jean-Yves Toullec (Hampton, Winter and Resources Centre), Allie Grant, Stella Tsang (Holman Fenwick Willan) Glynn), Andrea Demy (AGS Four Winds)