Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce

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Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
AbbreviationHKGCC
Formation29 May 1861; 163 years ago (1861-05-29)
Legal statusNot-for-profit organisation
PurposeChambers of commerce in Hong Kong
Location
Region served
Hong Kong
Chairman
Agnes Chan
Websitewww.chamber.org.hk Edit this at Wikidata
Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
Traditional Chinese香港總商會
Simplified Chinese香港总商会
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiānggǎng Zǒng Shānghuì
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinghoeng1 gong2 zung2 soeng1 wui6*2

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC; Chinese: 香港總商會) was founded on 29 May 1861, and is the oldest and one of the largest business organizations in Hong Kong. It has around 4,000 corporate members, who combined employ around one-third of Hong Kong's workforce. It is a self-funding, not-for-profit organization that promotes and represents the interests of the Hong Kong business community. A core function of its work is to formulate recommendations on improving the business environment, which its 23 industry-specific committees constantly analyze and make regular submissions to HKSAR Government officials and policy makers.[1]

The Chamber's key services are advocacy, events, networking and business services. It also issues Certificates of Origin, ATA Carnet, and Certificate of Business Identity among other business documentation services via its six branches around Hong Kong.

History

Foundation

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce was founded on 29 May 1861, just 20 years after the foundation of the Colony of Hong Kong with Alexander Perceval of British owned trading conglomerate Jardine, Matheson & Co as its first chairman.[2] The original membership consisted of 62 companies.[3]

Business documentation services

The Chamber provides certification services in 5 districts in Hong Kong, and is the biggest location network in Hong Kong. It began issuing Certificates of Origin in 1920, and is the sole authorised organisation for issuing ATA Carnet documents. It also provides Document Endorsement, Consulate Endorsement Facilitation and Paper to EDI Conversion issued are fully recognized by consulates, banks and customs houses throughout the world.[4]

List of chairpersons

# Tenure Business Affiliation Notes
1 Alexander Perceval 1861–1862 Jardine Matheson & Co.
2 James Macandrew 1862–1863 Jardine Matheson & Co.
3 J J Mackenzie 1863–1864 Dent & Co
4 H B Gibb 1864 Gibb, Livingston & Co (Inchape)
5 H B Lemann 1865 Gilman & Co (Inchcape)
6 John Dent 1866 Dent & Co
7 Phineas Ryrie 1867–1868 Turner & Co; Legco 24½ years
8 W J Bryans 1869 Turner & Co
9 William Keswick 1870 Jardine Matheson & Co.
10 Phineas Ryrie 1871–1876 Turner & Co; Legco 24½ years
11 William Keswick 1877–1881 Jardine Matheson & Co.
12 F B Johnson 1882–1883 Jardine Matheson & Co.
13 William Keswick 1884–1885 Jardine Matheson & Co.
14 Phineas Ryrie 1886–1889 Turner & Co; Legco 24½ years
15 E Mackintosh 1890–1892 Butterfield & Swire
16 J J Keswick 1893–1895 Jardine Matheson & Co.
17 A G Wood 1895 Gibb, Livingston & Co.
18 A McConachie 1896 Gilman & Co (Inchape)
19 R M Gray 1897–1900 Reiss & Co
20 Sir Thomas Jackson 1901 Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Elected at a special general meeting on January 2, 1884, as the first HKGCC Legco representative
21 C S Sharp 1902 Gibb, Livingston & Co (Inchape)
22 E A Hewett 1903–1915 P&O Steam Navigation Co
23 D Landale 1915 Jardine Matheson & Co
24 G T Edkins 1916 Butterfield & Swire
25 P H Holyoak 1917–1918 Reiss & Co
26 S H Dodwell 1919 Dodwell & Co
27 P H Holyoak 1920–1921 Reiss & Co
28 A O Lang 1922 Gibb, Livingston & Co
29 D G M Bernard 1923 Jardine Matheson & Co.
30 J Owen Hughes 1924 Harry Wicking & Co
31 P H Holyoak 1925 Holyoak, Massey & Co
32 D G M Bernard 1926–1927 Jardine Matheson & Co.
33 T G Weall 1928 Dodwell & Co
34 B D F Beith 1929 Jardine Matheson & Co.
35 G Gordon Mackie 1930 Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co
36 W H Bell 1931 The Asiatic Petroleum Co
– T H R Shaw (acting) 1932 Butterfield & Swire
37 J A Plummer 1932 Bradley & Co
38 G Gordon Mackie 1933–1934 Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co
39 W H Bell 1935 The Asiatic Petroleum Co
40 S H Dodwell 1936 Dodwell & Co
41 M T Johnson 1937 Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co
42 A L Shields 1938 Shewan, Tomes & Co
43 T E Pearce 1939 John D Hutchison & Co
44 J K Bousfield 1940 The Asiatic Petroleum Co
45 S H Dodwell 1941 Dodwell & Co
Activities suspended due to World War II
46 R D Gillespie 1946–1947 Imperial Chemical Industries
47 C C Roberts 1948 Butterfield & Swire
48 P S Cassidy 1948–1949 John D Hutchison & Co
49 C C Roberts 1950 Butterfield & Swire
50 P S Cassidy 1951 John D Hutchison & Co
51 H J Collar 1952 Imperial Chemical Industries
52 C Blaker 1953 Gilman & Co
53 J A Blackwood 1954–1955 Butterfield & Swire
54 C Blaker 1956–1957 Gilman & Co (Inchape)
55 J D Clague 1958–1959 John D Hutchison & Co
56 G M Goldsack 1960 Dodwell & Co
57 W C G Knowles 1961–1962 Butterfield & Swire
58 S S Gordon 1963–1964 Lowe, Bingham & Matthews
59 G R Ross 1965–1966 Deacon & Co
60 J Dickson Leach 1967 Union Insurance Society of Canton
61 M A R Herries 1968–1969 Jardine Matheson & Co.
62 G M B Salmon 1970–1971 Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co
63 P G Williams 1972–1973 Dodwell & Co.
64 Peter Foxon 1974–1975 Gilman & Co (Inchape)
65 Leslie Gordon 1967–1977 Lowe, Bingham & Matthews
66 N A Rigg 1978–1979 Union Insurance Society of Canton Limited
67 D K Newbigging 1980–1981 Jardine Matheson & Co.
68 John Marden 1982–1983 Wheelok Marden
69 Jack Tang 1984–1985 South Seas Textile
70 Tom Clydesdale 1986–1987 Lowe, Bingham & Matthews
71 Allen Lee 1988 Sonca
72 Helmut Sohmen 1989–1991 World-Wide Shipping
73 Vincent Lo 1991-1992 Shui On Group
74 Paul Cheng 1992–1994 Inchcape
75 William Fung 1994–1996 Li & Fung
76 James Tien 1996–1998 Manhattan Garments
77 Peter Sutch 1998-1999 Swire Group
78 Tung Chee-chen 1999–2001 OOCL
79 Christopher Cheng 2001–2003 Wing Tai Corporation
80 Anthony Nightingale 2003–2005 Jardine Matheson Holdings
81 David Eldon 2005–2007 Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
82 Lily Chiang 2007-2008 Eco-Tek Holdings Suspended from Nov 2007 to May 2008
83 Andrew Brandler 2008–2010 CLP Group Acting from Nov 2007; elected May 2008
84 Anthony Wu 2010–2012 Bauhinia Foundation; Hospital Authority
85 Sir C K Chow 2012–2014 Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited
86 Y K Pang 2014–2016 Jardine Matheson Holdings
87 Stephen Ng 2016–2018 Wharf Holdings
88 Aron Harilela 2018–2020 Harilela Group
89 Peter Wong 2020–2022 Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
90 Betty Yuen 2022–2024 CLP Holdings Ltd
91 Agnes Chan 2024-present EY

CEPA

In HKGCC's report “China’s Entry into the WTO and its Impact on Hong Kong Business”, released on 18 January 2000, one of the key recommendations was to explore the possibility of setting up a regional trade agreement (RTA), also sometimes called a “free trade agreement”, as a concrete means to enhance further integration of trade and economic relations between Hong Kong and mainland China. After China's accession to the WTO in 2001, HKGCC once again presented the idea to Tung Chee-hwa, the then HKSAR Chief Executive. The idea struck a chord with Tung who then put forward the RTA concept to the Central Government. On 20 December 2001, Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, told Tung that the Central Government formally agreed to the suggestion, and consultation would begin immediately.[5]

In January 2002, discussions between the HKSAR and the Central governments formally began, and a regional trade agreement was hammered out and formally named “Mainland/Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement” or CEPA. HKGCC then submitted a paper entitled “Towards a Regional Trade Agreement between China and HKSAR” to Antony Leung on 21 January 2002, put forward seven principles to guide the discussions on the RTA, emphasizing that CEPA must be compliant with WTO principles.[6]

References

  1. ^ Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce official website
  2. ^ Ngo, Tak-Wing, ed. (2002). Hong Kong's History: State and Society Under Colonial Rule. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-20305-0. p. 128
  3. ^ "HKGCC official website"
  4. ^ Certificate of Origin Service, HKGCC Official website
  5. ^ Mainland China / Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement Business Assessment--Executive Summary A Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce Report, November 2003
  6. ^ Annex I and Annex II, Mainland China / Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement Business Assessment--Executive Summary A Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce Report, November 2003
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