National President’s AGM message 2021

National President report

Hello everyone!

Firstly, allow me to extend a very warm welcome to all Chapter Presidents, Board members and members who have joined us in our second virtual Annual General Meeting.  Lovely to see all of you and I trust you are all “soldiering on” during the longer than expected lockdowns in some of the States. As the vaccination roll out continues and hopefully state borders re-open, I am looking forward to the day we can host some “real life” face to face meetings and interstate visits.

Despite the pandemic disruption, some Chapters have continued to keep their members informed through virtual seminars, panel discussions and networking events. Thank goodness for technology which has allowed most of us to work from home.  Regardless of the challenges, I believe the pandemic has taught us a lot in terms of the innovation and use of technology, but most of all it has shown us how persistent effort, even in the face of uncertainty, pays dividends in the long run.

Overall membership this year has shown a reasonable lift in some Chapters despite our inability to host face to face events.  However, I would like to encourage each State Membership Chairperson to continue to market to newcomers and to call upon existing members to keep the faith and renew. In this regard, I believe it may be useful to conduct a survey among your existing members seeking feedback as to how best we are able to assist their business objectives.  Times have changed and one would expect that our members have also felt the need to adopt new techniques in in their trading and marketing arrangements.

During this year, the National office has focussed on simplifying and consolidating the National structure in order to lower overall administrative costs and thereby enable those savings to be spent on promoting more member related events.  In regard to this project, I would like to thank the NSW, Victorian and SA Chapter Committees for their contribution and support. After several quotes, the National office has engaged Moores Lawyers and Solicitors, (a Not-for-Profit Specialist) located in Melbourne to undertake the task.

On another note, the National Business Awards will once again be postponed as most State Chapters have not been able to host their leadup Business Award event. Having said that and looking towards a more normal 2022 I would like to encourage you to keep sourcing your potential Award candidates for next year’s event.  Should we be able to present a 2022 Business Awards night in person I am so looking forward to the stories of tribulation and success that have been borne from the pandemic years.

Looking forward, I would like to encourage all members to participate in the Associations’ calendar of upcoming virtual events:

• Hong Kong Forum (Nov. 30^th – Dec. 1^st, 2021)
• Asian Financial Forum (Jan 2022)

Finally, I would also like to take this opportunity to extend a huge thank you to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, HKETO Government of HKSAR, Hong Kong Tourism Board and InvestHK who have all continued to encourage and support our Association and for this we are most grateful.  In 2022, I hope we will be able to positively uplift the HK brand and the Association’s membership through more active marketing and face to face events.

In the meantime, look after your well-being, stay safe and hope to see you all at the next event.

Lucinda Chan

National President, HKABA

November 2021

 Chapter Presidents