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Tourism Awkward arrivals The sharp increase in Mainland tourists has come at a social price, in the eyes of many Hong Kong residents. Some Hong Kongers criticize Mainlanders’ personal habits, such as eating on public transport. Even worse incidents occur: Last year, Mainland parents were photographed letting their child defecate in a public area of the Harbour City shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, a popular shopping destination for Mainland visitors. In January, tensions were raised when a photographer claimed that security guards at the Dolce & Gabbana store in Harbour City stopped him from taking a picture of the shop’s window displays. He said store employees told him that only people from the Mainland and foreign tourists were allowed in the store. To be fair, some Hong Kong people have been insensitive in return, confronting and shouting at tourists, chanting offensive slogans or singing songs about “locusts,” a derogatory term for Mainland Chinese who travel in large groups. Businesses that by and large welcome Mainland tourists can also tick off a few problems, ranging from queue jumping and haggling in fixed-price stores to shoplifting and the proffering of counterfeit money. Indeed, retailers would find it hard to live without them. Marcella Chow, an economist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, estimates that Mainland tourists' spending made up about 23.4 percent of total retail sales in 2011. Some authorities have expressed concern that many crossborder visitors are actually importers of consumer goods, seeking to avoid paying Mainland duties. For some retailers, Airlines). The move comes in the face of growing rivalry from budget carriers – Australian-owned Jetstar is set, subject to regulatory approval, to launch in Hong Kong next year in a joint venture with China Eastern Airlines. Hong Kong Airlines also hopes to add new aircraft to its fleet in the next two years in a bid to broaden its range of destinations. It began flying from Hong Kong to Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, in September. Diverse attractions Hong Kong’s accommodation sector is also gearing for a continued increase in the number of tourists. According to a forecast by Business Monitor International, a Londonbased consultancy, about 8,000 new rooms will be added to Hong Kong’s hotel capacity between now and 2016, increasing the total by about 11.5 percent to 77,000 rooms. A challenge for industry professionals is 38 December 2012 keeping tourists in Hong Kong, rather than have them move on to Macau or other destinations. “As Hong Kong is developing itself “ I don’t see any signs showing that Hong Kong is over-reliant on the China market.” to be a hub for multi-destination travel, more efforts need to be made to impress visitors,” says Matthias Li, deputy chief executive of Ocean Park and an Institute member. “A portion of Mainland tourists have already made several visits to Hong Kong, and would now look beyond the typical attractions and seek more novel experiences that would depict local culture and heritage,” Li adds, citing examples such as the Tai O parallel importers are a non-issue. “End users make up absolutely the majority of our customers,” says Guy Look, a Hong Kong Institute of CPAs member and chief financial officer of Sasa International Holdings, which operates cosmetics stores throughout Hong Kong and the Mainland. Most retailers would like to see more tourists arrive in Hong Kong. But the question is, how many is too many? The Hong Kong government is proceeding cautiously with a plan to make it easier for 4.1 million non-permanent residents of Shenzhen to enter Hong Kong on multi-entry permits. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said in October that the plan would not take effect until both Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have confirmed that the city has the capacity to handle so many potential visitors. "The [postponement] is mainly to ensure the healthy development of Hong Kong's tourism and to minimize the impact on Hong Kong residents' livelihoods,” Leung said, citing concerns registered by residents of the northern New Territories, closest to Shenzhen. Institute members, many of whom are in sectors that count on Mainland visitors, are concerned about tensions. “We, as Hong Kong residents, could do more by offering our warmest hospitality and patience to our guests from the Mainland,” says Philips Ng, finance manager at Hong Kong Airlines. Moreover, Mainland tourists could easily decide not to go where they’re not made to feel welcome. “I’m not sure that tourists from the Mainland will continue to consider Hong Kong as their first priority,” says Clement Tsang, regional finance director for LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in Hong Kong and an Institute member. “They may move on.” fishing village on Lantau, the annual bun festival on Cheung Chau and Hong Kong Global Geopark in the northeastern New Territories. “I don’t see any signs showing that Hong Kong is over-reliant on the China market,” he says. “The 70 percent, in my opinion, simply demonstrates the huge population in a single market who are interested in Hong Kong, which is something that we should be proud of.” To be sure, other countries are registering increased interest in Hong Kong. More tourists from Korea and the Middle East are arriving, while the other “BRIC” countries – Brazil, Russia and India – are among source markets with enormous room for growth, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. “I’m confident that Hong Kong is already working hard to entice these visitors to choose Hong Kong as their next destination,” says Li.
CPAs make a difference Giving back Many Institute members have their favourite charities and causes. For them, it’s not just a case of putting dollars in a donation box, but also providing a personal commitment to changing people’s lives, as Jemelyn Yadao and Alisha Haridasani find out Head high and straight-faced, Elvin Chan, commanding officer of the Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps, marches towards his group of young, uniformed cadets. The cadet leader, in his teens, salutes Chan at his arrival and requests for dismissal. Granting permission to do so, Chan signals the cadet leader to order the rest of the squadron to dismiss. “That ceremony is called ‘close formation,’ which signifies the end of a routine HKACC meeting. We also have an ‘open formation’ at the beginning of every meeting as well,” explains Chan, who is also a member of the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs and head of crisis management and business continuity for Asia at insurance giant AXA Asia-Pacific. As they stand attentively, ready to follow the officer’s orders, it is obvious that the squadron comprises a group of well-disciplined young men. Their admirable develop- 40 December 2012 ment is partly a result of Chan’s work – and assertiveness – as a HKACC volunteer. With a full time job in Hong Kong, constantly finding time to volunteer to good causes isn’t always easy. However, with the resourcefulness developed as a CPA, many like Chan still find that pursuing on-theground charity work can be both meaningful and manageable. Commanding success Having been a cadet himself as a young boy, Chan jumped at the opportunity to be trained as an HKACC officer in 2008. “I have picked up so many things from the corps, so I think it’s time to give back,” he says. “From my experience in the corps, I learned how to deal with people and how to evolve myself into something important.” The HKACC, one of the 11 governmentfunded youth uniformed groups in Hong PHOTO: SAMANTHA SIN Kong, has the mission to train up a group of skilled and confident young people for potential future service in the aviation industry. As an officer, Chan teaches his squadron of about 50 cadets discipline, leadership and interpersonal skills – attributes which he believes are essential for today’s youngsters, especially those who don’t attend top schools. “I know academically our student cadets are not the top students in Hong Kong, but I believe they can be very help-
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Page 3 and 4: REGULARS 01 President’s message 0
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Page 7 and 8: Talks over European Union budget en
Page 9 and 10: NEWS GREATER CHINA eBay to embark o
Page 11 and 12: CCB chairman defends Mainland bank
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Page 19 and 20: GUNS Roy Leung Partner, audit and a
Page 21 and 22: PHOTO: ALAN CHEUNG AND SUNNY YU wat
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Page 29 and 30: 38 million The number of electronic
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Page 39 and 40: CPAs make a difference Richard Chen
Page 41 and 42: Fair value How your property valuat
Page 43 and 44: 121 TechWatch The latest standards
Page 45 and 46: Tech Q&A The Institute has issued a
Page 47 and 48: Events Your guide to courses, works
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