On 23 November, the German Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong held its Annual General Meeting 2022. Chaired by Johannes Hack, President of GCC, the AGM included a review of the chamber’s activities over the past year as well as the Board Elections for 2022-2023. GCC thanks all its members and partners for their outstanding support over the past year, and is already looking forward to celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2023, together with members and friends of the Hong Kong-German business community.

We proudly present the GIC | GCC Annual Report 2021-2022, summarising the challenges and successes of the past business year in Hong Kong. In this edition, you will find all our activities and events between July 2021 and June 2022, as well as plenty of other content, including an exclusive interview with Mr Tse Chin-wan, Secretary for Environment and Ecology, on Hong Kong’s low-carbon transformation!

The latest edition of the AHK World Business Outlook collected feedback from over 3,100 German companies worldwide from 4 to 23 October 2022. Internationally operating German companies are facing major challenges in their business environment in almost every corner of the globe. Yet, the economic outlook in many regions is not as pessimistic as in Europe and Germany, as the DIHK survey shows.

Founded in Geneva in 1816, Banque Cantonale de Genève (BCGE) is a well-established Swiss bank with more than 200 years of history. BCGE is a majority state-owned bank, providing a complete and diversified portfolio of activities to individual, corporate and institutional clients.

Simon-Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants is a global consultancy firm with more than 2,000 employees in 27 countries. The firm is focused on delivering measurable revenue and profit growth for their clients by optimising their pricing, sales, and marketing strategies.

Teal Goal was established in 2013 as a buying office and trading partner of the well-known European DIY chain BAUHAUS. Teal Goal is sourcing products all over Asia, which are delivered to over 270 retail chain stores in 19 European countries.

Established in 1996, Viessmann China is a subsidiary 100% owned by the Viessmann Group that focuses on residential, commercial, and industrial heating and ventilation systems. The Group has more than 13,000 employees and 22 production companies worldwide.

WHub is the largest startup platform and startup ecosystem accelerator from Hong Kong, helping startups scale and any stakeholder to connect with the innovative power of the ecosystem; talent, corporates, universities, governments, accelerators, and incubators.

Find all 2022-23 representative changes at a glance here.

Hong Kong (香港) famously translates to “fragrant harbour”. But how did this name actually come about? During the Ming (1368–1644) and early Qing (1636–1912) dynasties, Hong Kong was a major trading port for incense. Many villages across the New Territories were engaged in the production of agarwood, a precious dark resin won from the Aquilaria species of trees; better known as incense trees. Agarwood has a distinct fragrance and is traditionally used in religious ceremonies, for instance in China, Indonesia, and the Arabic countries.

The agarwood would be brought from the New Territories to a fishing village on the south side of Hong Kong Island, known today as Aberdeen (pictured). From there, the valuable commodity was shipped to countries across Asia and the Middle East on junk boats. Due to the lucrative incense trade, Aberdeen Harbour soon became known among locals as the “incense harbour” or “fragrant harbour”. When British sailors eventually landed near the village in the 1800s, it was falsely assumed that the name “Hong Kong” referred to the entire island – and the rest is history.

Incense trees still grow all over Hong Kong and some are many centuries old. However, illegal logging has led to a dramatic decline in the number of trees over the years. The species is now protected under the “Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance” and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department is planting 10,000 seedlings in Hong Kong’s country parks every year to restore its population.