APEC SME Summit Attracts Over 700 Business People

	In her welcoming remarks at the APEC SME Summit today, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Margaret Fong said that the HKTDC is in business to help SMEs manage the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship
	Vincent Lo, Chairman of Shui On Holdings Ltd, and Anthony Nightingale, Managing Director of the Jardine Matheson Group, were among the high-profile business leaders speaking at today’s summit
	Cher Wang, Chairman of the HTC-VIA Group, talked about starting her business to the summit participants, who numbered more than 700
	Benjamin Hung, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd, focused on the banking industry’s contributions to SMEs in his summit address
	Dr William Fung, Executive Deputy Chairman, Li & Fung Ltd, spoke about re-inventing the family company at the summit luncheon

21 February 2012 – More than 700 business people from more than 20 countries and regions are participating in the APEC SME Summit today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

The summit is taking place under the theme “entrepreneurship.” Focusing on building small businesses, it features case study examples of outstanding entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Some 15 prominent speakers and moderators are taking part in the summit, which is organised by the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). 

“In good times and bad, small business has been critical to Hong Kong’s economic success,” said HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Margaret Fong, who opened the summit. “It’s thanks to SMEs that this city has long been one of the world’s great trading economies,” she said, adding that the Hong Kong Trade Development Council helps “SMEs manage the risks as well as the rewards of entrepreneurship.” Ms Fong noted that the HKTDC supports SMEs in many ways, including its SME Start-Up Programme, revamped SME Centre, workshops on a wide variety of business themes and some 30 international fairs and related events. 

ABAC Press Conference
ABAC was created by APEC in 1995, to provide advice on business-related issues. Alongside the summit, ABAC will also hold its first meeting of the year in Hong Kong, 21-24 February. A press conference summarising the four-day meeting will be held on 24 February, at the conclusion of the ABAC proceedings.

Websites
APEC SME Summit: www.apecsmesummit2012.com
ABAC: http://www.abaconline.org/
Webcasts: http://youtu.be/6t4iVcKD62c or http://www.hktdc.com/info/webcast/v/en/en/1X04BA51

Media Enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC's Corporate Communication Department:

Joe Kainz
Tel: (852) 2584 4216
Email: joe.kainz@hktdc.org

About the HKTDC
A statutory body established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is the international marketing arm for Hong Kong-based traders, manufacturers and service providers. With more than 40 global offices, including 11 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China and throughout Asia. The HKTDC also organises trade fairs and business missions to connect companies with opportunities in Hong Kong and on the mainland, while providing information via trade publications, research reports and online. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com

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