CSR: Monsoon launches Men’s Forum – for men only.

Chamber member Monsoon has launched a new event series catering to the needs and interests of men.

The Men’s Forum is an English speaking, non-political, non-religious, non-profit making platform  providing infotainment programs for men, specifically the local business community, professionals, entrepreneurs, senior executives aged 35 and above in the higher income group.

The funds raised will support the AWA’s (American Women’s Association) Education & Scholarship program.  The  programme provides support to 5000+ underprivileged secondary and university students, especially those in Shum Shui Po, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun areas. Research has shown that all things equal, ivy league “rich kids” are beating “poor kids” 8:1 in the job market. They get better jobs with better pay because they have more exposure, are wiser in the ways of the world, & are therefore smarter. The Men’s Forum is part of a program established to address this problem.

Apart from raising funds, the Forum strives to develop a network of potential employers,  high earning professionals and executives in the senior management level in an attempt to build up a pool of resources for these students – from simple exposure opportunities, (e.g. a visit to a production plant…) to finding internships and trainee programs for their graduates.

Speakers for the 21/May/2011 Forum include:

Award Winning Wines 2010

Toby Marion, Chairman, HK Country Club.  Director, Golden Gate Wine. Governor, American Chamber of Commerce

 

Managing Super Sports Brands

Rob James, Ambassador for RacingThePlanet, Marketing Manager, Asia for Manchester United

 

Receding Hairline

Dr. Walter King, Head of Reconstructive Surgery, HK Sanatorium & Hospital. Clinical Professor of Surgery, Chinese University of HK.

 

 

Understanding Tablets: iPad2 vs. The Androids Jay Oatway, Tech Journalist, Digital Strategist, Social Media Coach Finding A Life Partner in Hong Kong M.L. Liu,  Founder & Managing Director, Hong Kong Matchmakers, Winner of 2010 High Flyer Award.  Take A Spin in a MiG Fighter Jet…Explore the Titanic…Then bike thro’ the Gobi ! Sue Davis, Manager Concorde Travel, bespoke travel specialist of outrageous and exotic holidays.
A fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon and all for a good cause. To avoid disappointment, book now : www.mensforum.com.hk Enquiry: info@mensforum.com.hk

Hockey: Live in Hong Kong, the Ice Hockey 5’s Tournament

Check the website here.

Investment: Pure Technology Road Show comes to Hong Kong

The investment community are invited to join Pure Technologies, a TSX-listed infrastructure technology leader (TSX-V: PUR), on May 25th in Hong Kong.

The President, Mr. Jack Elliott, will present along with Derek Choi, Managing Director of their Hong Kong joint venture partner, Balama Prima Engineering.  Pure Technology and Balama Prima Engineering announced their Hong Kong based joint venture last year which is developing opportunities in Hong Kong and China.

They will discuss their firms’ performance, prospects and plans for China over lunch.  See the corporate fact sheet below and invitation.

Open to media, qualified investors and business partners.

0Investor_fact_sheet_FINAL_.pdf

0HK_Investor_Day.pdf

Mining: Avalon rings the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange On Tuesday April 26th

Chamber member and CEO Don Bubar was privileged to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange in celebration of the Company’s listing on the NYSE Amex on December 21, 2010.

Don was accompanied on the balcony for this memorable event by Avalon’s CFO, Jim Andersen, Chairman Alan Ferry, Director Hari Panday, as well several enthusiastic shareholders, consultants and supporters from the United States who have helped the Company over the years to achieve this important milestone.

We invite you to visit www.avalonraremetals.com to watch the video and view some photos from the event.

Video and photo show here.

HKCBA Annual Conference in Calgary

Check out the Hong Kong-Canada connection in Calgary this year.  Click here for the website.

Lifestyle: Expats say Canada is best place to live

According to a study of over 1,000 expats carried out by NatWest International, Canada is the country which offers the best qualify of life for Britons abroad.

92 per cent of British expats in Canada surveyed by the bank praised their working environment as “very good” or “excellent”, while 90 per cent rated their financial security as meeting the same criteria.

Read the full story here.

People, Insurance: Sun Life Financial Appoints VP of Individual Life Business

Sun Life Hong Kong today announced the appointment of Albert Chan as Vice President, Individual Life Business, directly reports to Roger Steel, CEO of Sun Life Hong Kong.

 

In his new role, Chan is responsible for managing the Individual Life Business (ILB) division, which is newly established for the management of the Individual Life business of Sun Life Hong Kong.  He will be in charge of product development, product management and product-related regulatory and marketing communications, plus the investment funds marketing function.

 

Since 1994, Chan has been a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. He has over 20 years of experience in Individual and Group Insurance products and the Retirement Plan business, in both consulting and insurance company environments. Having started his career as an Actuarial staff in Canada, he has most recently served as Chief Actuary in the third largest life insurance company in China. A seasoned executive, Chan has experience in product development and strategic planning as well as corporate actuarial functions, working in Hong Kong across a variety of roles with leading life insurers and a major consulting firm.

 

M&A: China Goes Global 2011 Survey Shows Larger Investments by Chinese SMEs and Growing Interest in Mergers and Acquisitions

The scale of Chinese small and medium size enterprises’ (SMEs) outward foreign direct investment grew in 2010, according to a report published jointly by the China Council for Promotion of International Trade, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The share of deals exceeding US $100 million rose from 1%in 2008 to 8% in 2010. The China Goes Global 2011 report, launched at the 5th Chinese Enterprises Outbound Investment Conference in Beijing, China, also found growing interest among Chinese firms in mergers and acquisitions, up from 8%in 2008 to 15% in 2010. It is estimated that China made US $23.8 billion in direct investment overseas through mergers and acquisitions in 2010, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce. The full report is available here.

Information summarized from:  Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Press Release

 

Finance: One regulator or many? A defence of provincial securities regulators.

This is an interesting piece from the Globe and Mail presenting a contrarian view on Canada’s move to centralise securities regulation.  Queen’s University Professor Thomas Courchene points to the depth and breadth of Canada’s markets as proof that the current system works.

Full story here.

Some quotes:

“The Canadian securities industry, Prof. Courchene says, is a success story – so much so that the Santa Monica, Calif.-based Milken Institute last year ranked Canada No. 1, out of 100 countries, on the breadth, depth and vitality of its capital markets. This was no accident, he says; rather, it is the product of “arguably the most decentralized federation in the world.” Switzerland, famously decentralized, doesn’t come close.”

“In this decentralized universe, Prof. Courchene says, the provinces regulate their own markets in their own ways: “Alberta has oil and gas markets. British Columbia has mining and mineral exploration. Ontario has financial services. Quebec has converted the Montreal Stock Exchange to a derivatives exchange … Finance Minister Jim Flaherty [has himself noted] that Canada has almost 3,800 publicly listed companies, far more per capita than many other developed countries.” With a population nine times Canada’s, the U.S. has 5,100 listed companies.”

 

 

Banking: Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of Montreal Enter Into a Private Banking Cross-Border Financial Services Cooperation Agreement

Agricultural Bank of China (“ABC”) and Bank of Montreal (“BMO”) have officially launched a referral arrangement between the two banks that will provide their respective clients with access to cross border private banking financial services. As part of the agreement, representatives of ABC and BMO will provide high net worth clients in China with information about overseas studies, immigration and other cross border financial services and solutions.

“The cooperation between ABC and BMO will be a big step for the development of ABC’s private banking department,” said Zhu Hongbo, Executive Vice President, Agricultural Bank of China. “Through the cooperation between ABC and BMO, together with each other’s long-term accumulation of cooperative relationships with many institutions like immigration agencies, overseas study intermediaries, investment and tax planning firms, we will be able to provide comprehensive solutions for clients. This tight cooperation will help ABC complement its business ranges and promote service model innovations.”

“We are pleased to deepen our longstanding relationship with ABC. This is a great opportunity for our clients who require local private banking services in China,” said Gilles Ouellette, President & CEO, Private Client Group, BMO Financial Group and Chairman of BMO (China) Co. Ltd. “Private banking is an important part of BMO’s Asia growth strategy. This relationship enhances our ability to better meet the needs of our high-net worth clients and complements our established presence in China, including our equity interest in Fullgoal Fund Management Co. and our recently announced agreement to acquire Hong Kong-based Lloyd George Management.”

As a result of this cooperation between ABC and BMO, clients of each bank will be able to benefit from a consistently high level of cross-border financial services.

This cooperation agreement between ABC and BMO represents an opportunity for ABC to provide its clients with access to overseas private banking services, to better serve its private banking clients in China, and reflects a commitment by ABC to grow its private banking business. The two banks will continue to work together to identify other potential areas of collaboration in order to better meet clients’ international needs.

ABC formally launched its private banking services in 2010. ABC Private Banking provides its clients a full range of services, including personal financial management service, asset management service, private financial consulting service, private value-added service, and personal cross-border financial advice and services. The Private Banking business is headquartered in Shanghai, and has 12 branches across China in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hubei, Guangdong, Qingdao, Ningbo, Xiamen, and Shenzhen.

Established in 1817, BMO – Canada’s first bank – serves 11 million personal, commercial, corporate and institutional customers in North America and internationally. BMO’s ties with China go back to 1818 – the year after its founding – when the bank undertook its first foreign exchange transaction in support of trade with China. BMO is the only Canadian bank to be incorporated locally in China, and has over 130 years of experience providing private banking services.