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| Chamber in Review 活 動 重 溫 |Chairman’s Report 主 席 報 告Despite the uncertainties created by the dramatic globalevents of 2011, the Chamber had a good year, celebratingthe 150th anniversary of its founding in style witha gala dinner. As part of the festivities, we also launched ‘FreeRide Day,’ which allowed members of the public to join in ourcelebration by travelling for free on selected trams and ferries.Hongkong Post also marked our 150th milestone by issuinga set of stamps. Another milestone in 2011 was the appointmentof the first female CEO of the Chamber, Shirley Yuen,who has helped to present a more modern, dynamic image ofthe Chamber.International Affairs2011 was a difficult year for the local business community,especially when viewed from the broader international perspective.Global events dominated all else. Yet, amid the globalturmoil, this part of the world remained relatively calm.Locally, we were lucky that our domestic market performedstrongly. This was due in no small measure to the tourism sector,which has been driven by double digit growth in visitorsfrom the Mainland. Last year, Hong Kong welcomed 42 millionvisitors. Around 28 million of those were from the Mainland,representing around 66% of the total market. In short,Mainland visitors contributed towards keeping our domesticeconomy buoyant.AdvocacyThe Chamber worked hard to lobby the Government toprovide relief to businesses whose order books and cash-flowwere drying up. Many of the proposals announced in theFinancial Secretary’s Budget to help companies cope with theglobal economic gloom were all measures proposed or stronglyadvocated by the Chamber. These included enhancement ofthe existing SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, a profits taxrebate, and waiving business registration fees.In the 12th Five-Year Plan announced in March 2011, over90% of the Chamber’s suggestions to the Central and HongKong governments on how Hong Kong should position itselfas an offshore RMB and wealth management centre wereadopted.68 June 2012 The Bulletin 工 商 月 刊