Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
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| Abbreviation | HKGCC |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1861 |
| Legal status | Not-for-profit organisation |
| Purpose | Chambers of commerce in Hong Kong |
| Location |
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Region served
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Hong Kong |
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Chairman
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Stephen Ng |
| Website | Hong Kong General Chambers of Commerce |
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC; Chinese: 香港總商會) was founded in Hong Kong in 1861. It is a self-funding, non-profit organization with about 4,000 member companies. Its stated mission is to safeguard and represent trade, service and industry in Hong Kong. The Chamber 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.
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. The original membership consisted of 62 companies.
At that inaugural meeting, the Chamber's role was stated to 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."
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.
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