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The HKIS Annual Dinner highlighted achievements made by the surveying profession in 2016

For the past 32 years, the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyor’s (HKIS) Annual Dinner has been a signature event for members. This year’s black-tie affair drew more than 600 members and distinguished guests – including government officials, academics, affiliated bodies and local industry veterans, as well as some special guests from overseas and mainland China – who enjoyed a memorable evening in the grand ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

In his welcome speech, outgoing HKIS president CK Lau expressed his heartfelt thanks to the members who had given considerable amounts of their time contributing to the growth of the institute, of Hong Kong, and of various other local and international organisations. He also highlighted three areas in which HKIS has made huge strides this year: promoting a business-friendly environment in Hong Kong, facilitating HKIS’s development in Greater China and promoting the surveyors’ brand.

Lau also paid tribute to the annual dinner organising committee for making the event a great success. “A special ‘thank you’ goes to all the sponsors who generously gave us their support,” he said. “I am confident that HKIS will continue to devote its efforts in having a beneficial influence on, and making positive contributions to, both the profession and the community as a whole.”

Lau’s speech was followed by remarks from Dick Kwok, vice-president of HKIS and chairman of the organising committee. “The HKIS annual dinner celebrates and closes out the institute’s year, and 2016 has certainly been a very meaningful one,” he said. “We have been very lucky to receive more support and recognition than we could have imagined.” Kwok also offered his sincere gratitude to the members of the organising committee, as well as fellow HKIS members, for their contributions towards a successful and delightful evening.

The highlight of the event saw the guest of honour, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, address the gathering and thank HKIS for its support of government initiatives related to Lantau development and HK 2030+. Making his fourth appearance at the annual dinner, Leung touched on a number of topics including land shortages, housing issues and climate change, and introduced the HK$200 million Professional Services Advancement Support Scheme (PASS), launched in November 2016.

Leung said the government would finance future industry-led non-profit projects in order to increase exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong’s professional services and their counterparts in external markets, as well as to enhance the competitiveness of the HKIS. “The government will fund up to 90 per cent of the total eligible project cost, and a wide range of professional services are eligible for funding under PASS – such as non-profit-distributing professionals, trade and industrial organisations, and research institutes,” he said.

Turning to the mainland, Leung stressed that even more opportunities are being created for surveyors to get involved in. “For more than 30 years, mainland China has been one of the largest and most dynamic markets. Under ‘one country, two systems’ and thanks to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, many opportunities have opened up, with more building-surveying professionals entering the market. Indeed, the world is changing faster than we thought in the areas of politics and economics, as such recent happenings as Brexit and the US presidential election demonstrate.”

Leung also spoke of feedback from the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation 2016 Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Peru, which he attended. He said that a number of business leaders gave their views on the future of trade globalisation with China, and advocated for greater direction and leadership in promoting free trade. “The message I brought back is simple but vital,” he summed up. “We must keep Hong Kong competitive in this new world order.”

What set this year’s annual dinner apart from previous ones was a special table with 12 young secondary and tertiary students from the Society for Community Organisation, based in Sham Shui Po. Leung, who came up with the idea to help grassroots youngsters experience different facets of society, hosted the table.

“We professionals rely on our own initiative to undergo training and earn our living,” Leung said. “We can be good role models for children to teach them more about professional ethics. I would also encourage HKIS to invite more students to join its future events to broaden their outlook.”

Form 1 student Peter Wong was deeply moved by Leung’s encouragement and that of other HKIS members. “Thanks to my discussions with the surveyors, I was able to learn much more about the industry,” he said. “It’s invaluable to know how they achieved their success and climbed up the professional ladder.”

The only non-student among the group was 21-year-old Ken Lam, who works in logistics. He signed up for this event in order to widen his exposure to the industry and make helpful connections. “It was a great opportunity for us grassroots kids to open up our eyes by meeting such interesting and different people.”

 


This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as A night to remember.