Year 2008 - Insurance Industry after current finanical tsunami

4 2008 YEARBOOK 二 〇 〇 八 年 年 刊 from the President Message I am so pleased to serve the Chamber as the President in 2008. With the strong support and effort of my fellow directors, Hon. Bernard Chan Honorary Adviser of the Chamber and members of the Board of Councilors, the Chamber had experienced a fruitful and successful 2008. Year 2008 was an unprecedented year in the wake of the Financial Tsunami. The current financial crisis starts in the United States and quickly spreads out to all over the world. It is serious in magnitude, contagious in relations and provocative in thought. Nobody can yet quantify the consequence. Much is printed every day about its background, causes and impact. For the past few months, governments have been taking unprecedented level of efforts in restoring the stability of financial market and avoiding a deep depression. In Hong Kong, our Commissioner of Insurance and the SAR government have been acting thoughtfully and responsibly to restore public confidence in the insurance industry. What lies ahead is perhaps unpredictable but certainly not invincible. I am confident that difficult times will be over. It is time to rethink our core value and take a `make sense approach’. It seems to us at HKCII that it would be helpful to the insurance community to produce articles which give readers insights of what the insurance industry in Hong Kong can do to make our industry sustainable in long term and to serve the public better. I sincerely thank all writers who are so generous to share their views with us and I am sure that these articles are of great value to all of us in the insurance industry. Joseph C.L. Sit President 2008