President's Foreword





Foreword

It has been 3 years since the Lehman incident in the U.S. triggered the financial tsunami. The total export of watches and clocks in Hong Kong fell from HK$55.2 billion in 2008 to HK$43.7 billion in 2009, it was until 2010 that it increased greatly. According to the data, Hong Kong’s watch export in 2010 totaled HK$57.6 billion which is a 31.7% increase in comparison with that in 2009. In January to May this year, Hong Kong’s export to Switzerland and China had also an increase of 49.7% and 27.4% respectively. However, at the same time that the export was rising continuously, it was heard that a financial crisis was triggered by the lowering of the U.S. sovereign rating. Upon the fact that Hong Kong’s major export markets of watches i.e. Europe and the U.S. have been slow in recovering economically, the fundamental economic problem is not resolved and people’s income is not improved, which explain the weak consumption power. I estimate that the export figures in the second half of the year will not be as good as the first half and only a little growth will be recorded this year.

Contrary to continuous economic downturn in Hong Kong’s major export markets of watches, the market of mainland China has a recurrent growth in internal consumption power, having benefited from the Government’s supportive policy. There are more than 1.3 billion people in China, meaning that the market has a high potential. People have accumulated a great amount of wealth during the past 30 years, and their demand for consumer goods is increasing day by day. Their desire for the quality and brand of the products is also rising continuously. I see that many fellow industrialists have invested in making their own brands and developing the domestic market. For this, the HKWMA will continue to work hard on getting more resources and strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights with the help from China and the Hong Kong Government, supporting the development of this competitive market.

Hong Kong is in the position as the world’s gate for grand watch brands to Mainland China, which can be told by the attendance list of the Fair these years. In the Fair of 2010, dozens of internationally renowned watch and clock brands entered the Brand Name Gallery for the first time. The international brands will be more actively involved in the Fair this year in September. With Hong Kong’s unique geographical advantage and efficient financial as well as logistic systems, I believe that Hong Kong will grow stronger in its position as the hub of World watches and clocks.

I have been working hard on establishing a better information sharing and communication platform for the industry since I was elected chairman in June 2010. Whether we are able to have access to accurate and relevant information on time is the key to success in this competitive commercial society today. The visitors of the website “WATCH AND CLOCK WORLD” which was established in 2008 have increased from about 500 visitors in 2009 to about 5000 visitors today, it is expected that the number will increase to more than 8000 visitors by the end of this year.

I truly believe that the future of the watch and clock industry is in the hands of our young people. HKWMA has been sparing more effort to promote the idea to the government and industry that creating opportunities for more young people to join the industry may help them develop their creativity and preserve the Hong Kong spirit of persistence, which can also enhance their competitiveness. As for the General Committee, they have been actively introducing the second generation of some enterprises and training them to be the successors for the HKWMA through their participation in events of the industry. Regarding the promotion of education and personnel training, HKWMA participated in the “Qualifications Framework” and “Skills Upgrading Scheme” organized by the Education Bureau to promote employing trained graduates and summer students from the Vocational Training Council, helping the industry to pave its way to succession.

I look forward to cooperating with all of the current committee members like how the previous chairmen did and continuing to serve its members in the remaining 10 months. At the same time, I hope to receive the full support of all our members to reach better success in the future. Finally, I wish all our members good health and prosperous business.