President’s Memo

LUCA CICO

President of The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao

Dear Members and Friends,

As of today, we all are still coping with the unprecedented turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. 2020 is coming to its end, and while there is the positive news on vaccines development, we still need to withstand some months of hardship with the necessary discipline as individuals to minimize the impact of potential new contamination waves, as businesses to stand strong and be ready for the opportunities which will present to us in the future “new normal”.

At the Chamber we never stopped delivering enthralling contents and tangible support to our members. We are pleased that our seminars, held in virtual formats, have been a success in terms of participation. Aside Italian food and fashion, our focus has been on innovation, sustainability and technology, the key enablers to strive in the current light-fast changing business context.

Among all our activities, we proudly supported the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong and the Italian Cultural Institute in Hong Kong in the organization of the festival ITALIA MIA, The festival focuses on Italian art, cinema and gastronomy traditions, with a special attention given to the masterpieces of one of the most celebrated film directors of all times, the great Federico Fellini, which offered to the Hong Kong residents the unique chance to experience the true Italian Dolce Vita, and to feel Italy as close as it could be in the current circumstances.

This issue’s core topic is how to plan for the upcoming future. Different businesses, operating in diverse industries, have kindly shared their 2021 strategies and actions: we hope this to be of inspiration to other companies on how to best manage and exploit the future challenges.

Lastly, hugely impressed by their commitment, ingenuity and flexibility demonstrated during this challenging year, I thank all our Members, Patrons, Sponsors and Partners in the local, Italian and global communities for their valuable support through these tough times.

As we have seen, the best ingredients for survival this year have been resilience and creativity, and they have made a difference between those businesses which have been able to reach success and those which could not resist the harshness of the current market.