navigation search this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . october 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message hong kong general chamber of commerce abbreviation hkgcc formation 1861 legal status not for profit organisation purpose chambers of commerce in hong kong location 22 f united centre 95 queensway hong kong region served hong kong chairman yk pang website hong kong general chambers of commerce the hong kong general chamber of commerce hkgcc ; chinese was founded in 1861 . it is a self funding non profit organization whose mission is to safeguard and represent trade service and industry in hong kong . it is the most international local business organization the largest and the most influential chamber of commerce in hong kong with about 4 000 members including multi national corporations local companies and mainland companies . advocacy is one of the core functions and strengths of the chamber . every year it formulates positions on issues relevant to the business sector and communicates regularly with government officials and policy makers in the form of public campaigns or position statements delivered to government . 1 the chamber is the organization which came up with the concept of the closer economic partnership arrangement cepa between mainland and hong kong . in a report released in january 2000 the chamber recommended the possibility of a regional trade agreement to enhance trade and economic relations between hong kong and mainland china . 2 the idea was taken positively by the then hksar chief executive tung chee hwa and the discussions between the hksar and the central governments began . after the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome sars in 2003 hong kong s economy was given a strong shot in the arm to help it get back on its feet with the signing of cepa which gave hong kong companies access to the enormous china market . the chamber is a strong supporter of environmental protection . the clean air charter was introduced in 2005 to encourage hong kong and guangdong companies to reduce air pollution . 3 more than 600 companies have endorsed the charter . the chamber has reduced its electricity consumption by 10 % through the introduction of a series of energy saving measures in 2006 . all savings were donated to green organizations contents 1 history 2 cepa 3 certificates of origin services 4 good citizen award 5 list of chairperson 6 references 7 external links history edit the hong kong general chamber of commerce was founded in 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 . 4 the original membership consisted of 62 companies . 5 at that inaugural meeting the chamber s role was clearly set out the object of the chamber shall be to watch over and protect the general interests of commerce to collect information on all matters of interest to the mercantile community and to use every means within its power for the removal of evils the redress of grievances and the promotion of the common good ; to communicate with authorities and other thereupon ; to form a code of practice whereby the transaction of business may be simplified and facilitated ; to receive references ; and to arbitrate between disputants the decisions in such references to be recorded for future guidance . 6 cepa edit 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 communist party of china told tung that the central government formally agreed to the suggestion and consultation would begin immediately . 2 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 topwards 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 . 7 despite being put on hold for months due to the outbreak of sars during march june 2003 negotiations resumed and cepa s text was finally concluded by the central and hksar government negotiators and signed on 29 june 2003 . certificates of origin services edit the chamber provides certification services in 7 districts in hong kong and is by far the biggest location network in hong kong . the certificates of origin document endorsement consulate endorsement facilitation and paper to edi conversion issued are fully recognized by consulates banks and customs houses throughout the world . 8 good citizen award edit hkgcc has been the sole sponsor of the good citizen award since its inception in 1973 . the award rewards citizens who have contributed to the safety of the community by assisting the police catch criminals . the scheme was set up as part of the first fight crime campaign funded by generous donations from chamber members and the community . over the years more than 3 600 citizens have been commended for their bravery in combating crime . list of chairperson edit name tenure business affiliation and notes yk pang 2014 present jardine matheson holdings sir c k chow 2012 2014 hong kong exchanges and clearing limited anthony wu ting yuk 2010 2012 bauhinia foundation ; hospital authority andrew brandler 2007 10 clp acting from 11 07 ; elected 5 08 lily chiang 2007 eco tek holdings on leave 11 07 5 08 david eldon 2005 07 hsbc anthony nightingale 2003 05 jardine matheson holdings christopher cheng 2001 2003 wing tai corporation tung chee chen 1999 2001 oocl peter sutch 1998 swire group james tien 1996 1997 manhattan garments william fung kwok lun 1994 1995 li & fung paul cheng ming fun 1992 1994 inchcape vincent h s lo 1991 shui on group helmut sohmen 1988 90 world wide shipping allen lee 1988 sonca tom clydesdale 1986 87 lowe bingham & matthews jack tang 1984 85 south seas textile john l marden 1982 83 wheelok marden d k newbigging 1980 81 jardine matheson & co. n a rigg 1978 79 leslie w gordon 1967 77 lowe bingham & matthews peter foxon 1974 75 gilman & co inchape p g williams 1972 73 dodwell & co. g m b salmon 1970 71 mackinnon mackenzie & co m a r herries 1968 69 jardine matheson & co. j dickson leach 1967 union insurance society of canton g r ross 1965 66 deacon & co s s gordon 1963 64 lowe bingham & matthews w c g knowles 1961 62 butterfield & swire g m goldsack 1960 dodwell & co j d clague 1958 59 john d hutchison & co c blaker 1956 57 gilman & co inchape j a blackwood 1954 55 butterfield & swire c blaker 1953 gilman & co h j collar 1952 imperial chemical industries p s cassidy 1951 john d hutchison & co c c roberts 1950 butterfield & swire p s cassidy 1948 49 john d hutchison & co c c roberts 1948 butterfield & swire r d gillespie 1946 48 imperial chemical industries activities suspended 1942 45 s h dodwell 1941 dodwell & co j k bousfield 1940 the asiatic petroleum co t e pearce 1939 john d hutchison & co a l shields 1938 shewan tomes & co m t johnson 1937 mackinnon mackenzie & co s h dodwell 1936 dodwell & co w h bell 1935 the asiatic petroleum co g gordon mackie 1933 34 mackinnon mackenzie & co j a plummer 1932 bradley & co t h r shaw acting 1932 butterfield & swire w h bell 1931 the asiatic petroleum co g gordon mackie 1930 mackinnon mackenzie & co b d f beith 1929 jardine matheson & co. t g weall 1928 dodwell & co d g m bernard 1926 27 jardine matheson & co. j owen hughes 1924 harry wicking & co d g m bernard 1923 jardine matheson & co. a o lang 1922 gibb livingston & co p h holyoak 1920 21 reiss & co s h dodwell 1919 dodwell & co p h holyoak 1917 18 reiss & co g t edkins 1916 butterfield & swire d landale 1915 jardine matheson & co e a hewett 1903 15 p & o steam navigation co c s sharp 1902 gibb livingston & co inchape sir thomas jackson 1901 hong kong & shanghai bank r m gray 1897 00 reiss & co a mcconachie 1896 gilman & co inchape a g wood 1895 gibb livingston & co. j j keswick 1893 95 jardine matheson & co. e mackintosh 1890 92 butterfield & swire phineas ryrie 1886 89 turner & co ; legco 24 years william keswick 1884 85 jardine matheson & co. f b johnson 1882 83 jardine matheson & co. william keswick 1877 81 jardine matheson & co. phineas ryrie 1871 76 turner & co ; legco 24 years william keswick 1870 jardine matheson & co. w j bryans 1869 turner & co phineas ryrie 1867 68 turner & co ; legco 24 years john dent 1866 dent & co h b lemann 1865 gilman & co inchcape h b gibb 1864 gibb livingston & co inchape j j mackenzie 1863 64 dent & co james macandrew 1862 63 jardine matheson & co. alexander perceval 1861 62 jardine matheson & co. references edit hong kong general chamber of commerce official website a b mainland china hong kong closer economic partnership arrangement business assessment executive summary a hong kong general chamber of commerce report november 2003 clean air charter official website ngo tak wing ed . 2002 . hong kong s history state and society under colonial rule . routledge . isbn 978 0 415 20305 0 . p. 128 hkgcc official website 1 history hkgcc official website 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 certificate of origin service hkgcc official website external links edit the hong kong general chamber of commerce official website clean air charter official website certificates of origin services hkgcc official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title hong kong general chamber of commerce & oldid 735013819 categories chambers of commerce in hong konghidden categories articles with a promotional tone from october 2010all articles with a promotional tonearticles containing traditional chinese language text navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages edit links this page was last modified on 18 august 2016 at 04 00 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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