Education and Events
In spite of a city-wide slowdown in early 2022, the HKVCA rolled out a full agenda of events. Learning from the previous two years’ hosting virtual and hybrid programs, we maintained the high quality of each event and delivered the best possible results for our members.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic eased in the fourth quarter of 2021 in Hong Kong, and we were able to seize the opportunity to hold several small-scale in-person networking events, including two long-awaited Members Breakfast Meetings, Golf Day and Christmas cocktails.
Of the 42 events organized in the past year, we received more than 6,300 registrations. Our “Big3” annual flagship conferences - the Asia Private Equity Forum in January, the Asia Venture Capital Forum in March, and the China Private Equity Summit in August - accounted for one-third of these registrations, and close to 30 webinars were held covering a broad variety of subjects, from impact investing and digital assets to regulatory updates and tools for effective communication. While rules around social distancing meant the Private Equity Fundamentals Course had to be largely online, a great positive was that registration numbers were more than double registrations for the course when previously held in a purely physical format
The HKVCA launched its third ESG Award of Excellence to recognize significant environmental, social and governance-related initiatives in Asian private equity and venture capital-backed companies in 2021. Of the 26 ESG case studies received from across Asia, the HKVCA honored three winners during the Asia Private Equity Forum in 2022.
The Association also recognized the impact of changes to the CPT requirements for compliance, ethics and regulatory subjects by organizing several informative training sessions for members to fulfil the additional requirement.
We are especially pleased to announce the launch of the HKVCA Institute for Private Capital in early 2023. It’s aim is to develop and provide additional training to professionals from a wide range of related industries and functions.
Policy and Advocacy
The HKVCA’s Technical Committee met regularly with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Financial Services Development Council, Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Inland Revenue Department to discuss various issues, including but not limited to the DIPN on the concession tax rate for carried interest and the family office tax exemption regime.
The Association was also involved in several consultations during the past year, such as the Chief Executive’s Policy Address and the Finance Secretary’s Budget Speech. Our latest discussions with government officials focused on loosening the COVID-19 restrictions for business travelers.
To ensure better governance, this past year we established the new Governance & Nomination Committee. We also reorganized other committees to better align interests, reallocate resources, and free up capacity for future needs. Ultimately, the HKVCA aspires to expand the scope of our representation - beyond private equity to include other private asset classes and beyond Hong Kong and Asia to include the world.
Acknowledgments
I have mentioned only a few highlights of the many activities over the course of the past year. I must take this opportunity to recognize the many members and partners who have worked closely with our staff to make our events a success. This is especially true of our sponsors because without their continued and generous support, many of our events would not have been possible. We are especially grateful to Citigroup, KPMG, Intertrust, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks, Morgan Stanley, Shearman & Sterling and Ernst & Young.
My sincere appreciation is extended to the entire Board who have given significantly of their time and energy. We simply could not function without them.
Of course, our achievements over the past year were possible only because of our small but amazing secretariat team, led by Joanne Yuen, our Secretary General. They have energized, organized and revitalized the Association through tough times. We are grateful for their dedication, hard work and commitment.
It has been such a great honor and privilege to serve as the Chairwoman of the HKVCA for the last year. The year 2022 marks the 35th anniversary of the HKVCA. I would be extremely grateful to all of you for helping the Board, the Committees, and the secretariat team to carry on into the next year. Together, I know that we can forge ahead and continue to develop a strong and vibrant HKVCA that is the leading regional professional association for our industry.
Thank you.
All the best,
Rebecca Xu
Chairwoman
Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Asia Alternatives Advisor Hong Kong |