團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation

Dicky Chow, Head of Healthcare & Social Innovation, 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF), and Curtis Lam, Assistant Researcher, OHKF, wrote a commentary in ta kung pao 香港大公報, regarding Hong Kong's potential to lead a holistic development of sustainable finance. They discussed means of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) development from a social perspective and gave suggestions.   Business goals and social goals are not opposites, but complementary. What investment can be made by companies to build a sustainable business model? How to assist in social development and improve people's lives for realization of the vision of creating shared value between business and social sectors? Click on the article to learn more!   Read the Article: https://bit.ly/45N9QMj   Navigating The Future of Climate-Related Disclosures: Preparing for ISSB Compliance Event Recap: https://bit.ly/3RTB7qE

The commentary written by Dr Jane Lee, President of 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation, entitled Hong Kong Must Fall in Love with Art to be a Bona Fide Cultural Hub, was published in 南華早報.   Over the past 20 years, Hong Kong has emerged as a global powerhouse within the art world and has become a strategic gateway for art collectors and investors. How can Hong Kong further reinforce its position as an art market leader? How to nurture local artists and creatives? Click on the article to learn more.   Read the Article: https://bit.ly/3xLYQSH

Dr Jane Lee, President of 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation, as a member of Commission on Poverty, was interviewed by Now TV to discuss Hong Kong's poverty alleviation policies and current situation amidst a review on the concept of poverty alleviation.   Dr Lee mentioned the long-standing misinterpretation of the poverty line and the distortion of its original intention. Frankly, defining the poverty line is so complex that is affected by various factors, which cannot be explicitly illustrated with a few words or figures. She explained that the focus of effective poverty alleviation was not on this "line", but on how to target different groups of people, particularly the elderly, subdivided housing households, and single-parent households. Targeted poverty alleviation cannot be done unless diverse difficulties faced by the people are fully fathomed.   Dr Lee indicated that the government had made a good start by launching the current 3 poverty alleviation programmes, which were regarded as pilot schemes. However, poverty alleviation cannot rely solely on the Commission on Poverty. The government is advised to set up key performance indicators (KPI). Tackling intergenerational poverty and improving the education and public rental housing systems are priority tasks. Hence, assisting underprivileged groups in home ownership and increasing of upward mobility chances for their children through education are the core of the eradication of poverty.   Watch the Show: Clip 1: https://bit.ly/4cvmbqs Clip 2: https://bit.ly/4cw2Sxg

團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation celebrates the 27th anniversary of the establishment of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 香港特別行政區政府 of the People's Republic of China.   #中國香港 #27周年 #HongKongChina #27thAnniversary

Kenny Shui, Vice President cum Co-Head of Public Policy Institute, 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF), and Pascal Siu, Senior Researcher, OHKF, wrote a commentary on ta kung pao 香港大公報, regarding strengthening the reliability of ESG report through high-quality verification. Kenny and Pascal pointed out that, although many companies were actively optimizing ESG disclosure, the reports varied in quality and depth. This issue emanates from the general lack of professional knowledge to prepare ESG reports in some companies in Hong Kong. Coupled with resource constraints, they encounter difficulty in affording the cost of hiring an external preparation team. Particularly for smaller companies, they face greater challenges in completing a high-standard and high-quality ESG report. In fact, companies may use the tools and free online resources provided by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to calculate greenhouse gas emissions and improve the quality of their disclosure. The two observed that there was a lack of third-party verification after companies completed their ESG or climate disclosure reports. In the future, by phases and in stages, the government may draw reference to the European Union's "Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive" for introducing certification requirements for companies of different sizes. For further enhancement of the reliability and authority of ESG or climate disclosure reports, Hong Kong is suggested to adopt certification standards that are widely recognized around the world, for instance, the "International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000", as the benchmark for companies' conduct of certification work. Read the Article: https://bit.ly/3KO8R4z "Navigating the Future of Climate-Related Disclosures: Preparing for ISSB Compliance" Event Recap: https://bit.ly/3wXNU48

Victor Kwok, Assistant Research Director and Head of Education & Youth, 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation, responded to the government announcement that the tuition fee levels for publicly funded programmes of University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities would increase for 3 years consecutively. His response was quoted and forwarded by 13 published and online media.   Victor indicated that gradually increasing the tuition fees of UGC-funded universities was an appropriate method for supporting the sustainable development of Hong Kong's higher education sector. The average increase of 5.5% is relatively mild, which shows that the government has tried its best to balance the affordability of the public and the financial health. He mentioned that the tuition fees of UGC-funded universities had not been adjusted since the 1996/97 academic year. Given the current cost recovery rate has dropped to about 13%, implying nearly 90% is paid by taxpayers rather than users, it can be observed that the situation is not ideal.   In addition, as Hong Kong is actively developing into an international education hub, the higher education sector must balance its revenue and expenditure before expanding its overseas enrollment plan. Otherwise, hidden costs of some degrees will inevitably be borne by the institutions. Therefore, the adjustment of tuition fees is a responsible approach.   In his views, the basic principle of increasing tuition fees is to ensure that financial factors will not refrain students from enrollment. Hence, when raising tuition fees, the government is recommended to simultaneously increase relevant student loans and grants, and undertake prompt assessment of the burden of the increase in student loans on young people so as to assure equal opportunities for education and development are provided to the youth.   Read the Article: etnet: https://bit.ly/3VRNshm Ta Kung Wen Wei: https://bit.ly/4bcnGJ8 Hong Kong Commercial Daily: https://bit.ly/4c7TMak

Dicky Chow and Curtis Lam of the Healthcare and Social Innovation team of 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) met with Solina Ngai, Executive Director, and Jimmy Lui, Finance Manager, of the Hong Kong Centre for Cerebro-cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE) to discuss Hong Kong's cardiovascular health situation. During the meeting, the team presented OHKF's research and advocacy work on primary healthcare and gerontechnology, emphasizing the potential synergies between OHKF and COCHE in promoting cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and the utilization of relevant technologies. COCHE was impressed by the volume and depth of OHKF's research and highlighted key areas for future research, particularly in revisiting and clarifying the roles and scope of work of district health centres (DHCs) in CVD prevention or detection, and in identifying effective deployment strategies for health detection technologies in various care settings in Hong Kong. COCHE also suggested that OHKF explore the mainland model for a more integrated R&D process for medical technologies which involves improving health data accessibility and streamlining the process from prototyping to clinical testing, as well as facilitating on-the-ground use. Recognizing the link between COCHE's medical technology development and OHKF's efforts to promote an age-friendly Hong Kong, COCHE encouraged OHKF to explore sustainable financing options for the installation, use, and maintenance of assistive and CVD detection devices beyond one-time subsidies. Both parties expressed willingness to further engage and explore holistic approaches to promote cardiovascular health from both top-down and bottom-up perspectives. #OurHongKongFoundation #OHKF #PrimaryHealthcare #Healthcare #Gerontechnology

After the report, entitled Opportunities and Challenges for Hong Kong Youth Entrepreneurship in Guangzhou, was jointly launched by 團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) and Hong Kong Coalition, Dr Jane Lee, President, OHKF, and Victor Kwok, Assistant Research Director and Head of Education & Youth, OHKF, were interviewed by Now TV for an in-depth conversation regarding the issue of Hong Kong youth starting their businesses in mainland China.   Dr Lee mentioned that, by investigating Hong Kong youth entrepreneurs in Guangzhou, challenges encountered by them and possible policy adjustments that the governments of the 2 places could undertake were observed. She continued that subsequent research could be conducted in other regions. In light of the homogeneous phenomenon of incubation bases in Guangzhou, Dr Lee suggested the incubators to broaden their focus and expertise, and maintain close interaction with the SAR government and the Hong Kong entrepreneurial youth. Moreover, the youth are recommended to cultivate innovative ideas in Cyberport Hong Kong, 香港科技園, etc., followed by incubation in Guangzhou and to enter into other markets in mainland China, including the Greater Bay Area.   Victor noticed the challenges, for instance, insufficient understanding of the Guangzhou's entrepreneurial environment and a narrow network of contacts, faced by the Hong Kong entrepreneurial youth. He put forward 4 suggestions, including, firstly, exchange credit data between the 2 places for facilitating financing; secondly, incubation bases adopt a model of "be an employee before being an entrepreneur" for provision of short-term employment training; thirdly, establish an information platform to provide more entrepreneurial information; and lastly, offer assistance, such as life-supporting services, to the youth through the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong.   Watch the Show: Clip 1: https://bit.ly/3xGbB0Z Clip 2: https://bit.ly/3RFAQrk   Full Report: https://bit.ly/45zavkr Press Release: https://bit.ly/3KRaRcz

團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) was delighted to invited Prakash Mahbubani, Partner of Moneta International (HK), as the keynote speaker of “Our Hong Kong Stories: High Tea” talk series on 21 June, entitled “The Gift that Keeps Giving”, co-organized with HKU Business School. The event attracted over 120 guests, including not only senior executives, heads of consulates general, and chambers of commerce, but also young professionals. Event Recap: https://bit.ly/45ViuIN

團結香港基金 Our Hong Kong Foundation held the "Our Hong Kong Stories" series event on 21 June, inviting Prakash Mahbubani, Partner of Moneta International (HK), who was born and raised in Hong Kong, to share with us his "Hong Kong Story". During the dialogue session, Nury Vittachi, the Editor of fridayeveryday.com, asked Prakash Mahbubani about his long-term perspective on staying in Hong Kong. Prakash Mahbubani expressed that he had visited various countries and cities and thought that Singapore, Dubai, London, and New York were all wonderful. He mentioned that, considering a checklist of safety, education, ease of travel, residency, and all these things, Hong Kong was still his top choice.