March Seminar

Speaker	:	Dr. Sidney Sze Founding Chairman Independent Financial Advisors Association
Topic	:	Marketing for Budget 2008-2009: The Financial Industry Perspective
Date	:	March 18, 2008

On February 27, 2008, Mr. John Tsang, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), delivered his maiden budget speech. What were the budget's implications on the status of Hong Kong's economy? What's in it for the general population? What are the challenges and opportunities? CIM HK is pleased to have invited Dr. Sidney Sze as speaker of the March 2008 Seminar.

The Budget 2008/2009
As expected, a record surplus was attained and the HKSAR government would provide generous concessions benefiting a large spectrum of the community.

Robust Economy - Some Key Figures
> Consolidated budget surplus for 2007/2008 is expected to be $115.6 billion, beating original forecast of $25.4 billion
> 6.3% increase in real GDP in 2007/2008
>Inflation for 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 at 2% and 4.5% respectively

Key Tax Cuts
For businesses
> Reduction in profits tax rate by 1%
> Increase ceiling of tax-deductible charitable donations from 25% to 35%

For individuals
3, Reduction of standard salaries tax rate by 1% to 15%
4, Restoration of basic allowance, married persons' allowance and single parent allowance back to 2002/2003 level

One-off Measures
> Waiver of 75% of in profits tax, properties tax, salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for 2007/2008. This is subject to a ceiling of $25,000, deducted from the taxpayer's final tax payable for the financial year.
> Waiver of rates for 2008/2009, subject to a ceiling of $5,000 per quarter for each rate-able tenement
> One additional month payment for CSSA and disability allowance recipients
> One-off $3,000 payment to each recipient of Old Age Allowance
> One-off injection of $6,000 into MPF accounts of those people earning no more than $10,000 per month
> Waiver of business registration fee for 2008/2009
> Provision of $1,800 subsidy to each domestic electricity account

Other Long-term Issues
Despite the generous giveaways, some critics said the budget failed to fully address long-term issues such as the ageing population, shrinking workforce, healthcare and civil servants' pension.

Challenges and Opportunities for Marketers
Calibration
> Sensory systems that can detect important trends early
> Leaders with an agile mind to detect opportunities and threats presented by these trends
> Mobile resources allowing the organization to seize the opportunities and evade the threats in a timely fashion

Inside-out Solutions
Organizations are built with people. An individual's values and sense of purpose should be translated to his or her team, and subsequently throughout the corporation.

Multiple Perspectives
Marketers need to remain open-minded, seek out new signals and take into consideration as many points of views as possible. This way, you can learn about a complex system's challenges and opportunities.

About the Speaker
Dr. Sidney Sze is the Founding Chairman of the Independent Financial Advisors Association and the current Chief Executive Officer of Midland Financial Group. Prior to thism he was the Gneral Manager, China Operations of Triumph International (Overseas) Ltd. and General Manager of Lamex (Holdings) Ltd. A specialist in investment, insurance, business consultancy, professional training and financial planning, Dr. Sze has been frequently invited to give speeches on managerial development and financial planning courses at universities and training institutes to senior executives.

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