The Annual General Meeting of AustroCham was held on 21 March 2025 with the following Board of Directors elected:
• Chairman: Mr. Wilhelm Brauner
• Vice-Chairman: Mr. Michael Zankel
• Secretary: Ms. Elisabeth Chaudhuri
• Treasurer: Mr. Oliver Hoffmann
• Director: Ms. Jennifer Veigel
• Director: Mr. Christian Buggelsheim
We thank all our members, sponsors, and participants of our events for their continuous support and are looking forward to seeing you often during the 2025 membership year.
Report by the Chairman at the AGM of AustroCham, 21 March 2025
Dear Members,
2024 has been a fascinating year as so much that had been expected or hoped for turned
out differently. This seems to be the new normal. At the Austrian Chamber of
Commerce Hong Kong & Macau we tried to keep as steadfast as possible with our
program. For this I would like to thank my fellow board members, our secretariat, and
especially you, our members.
Due to the challenging economic environment we have also seen a decrease in
membership. Despite the tightening of marketing budgets and disposable income we
work hard to maintain our services. By entering new alliances and fostering cooperation
with likeminded organisations we were able to bring new events and different
perspectives to trusted affairs. At our first-Tuesday-of-the-month Stammtisch in
September we had as special guest: the Belgian Club Hong Kong. We also partnered
with the Romanian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong on two networking junk trips,
the second one in August with a family touch to resounding success.
In Macau we continued with our outreach by organizing a special Stammtisch followed
by a delicious dinner. Thanks to members from Hong Kong joining as well we could
bridge the Pearl River Delta and bring Austrians of the Greater Bay Area together.
After a long break we were able to welcome again a political representative from
Austria in Hong Kong. On the occasion of a delegation visit headed by Mr. Peter
Hanke, Viennese Executive City Councillor, we organised an informative business
luncheon. It was another strong show of the Austrian community building relations and
bridging cultures thus setting the base for fruitful business. We also would like to give a
big thank you to the Austrian Consulate General and the Austrian Trade Commission
for their great collaboration.
Thanks to the standing of AustroCham you are very welcome to raise issues you would
like to bring to the attention of the governments of Hong Kong and Macau. As we have
regular meetings with the Chief Executive and his administration we can present these
topics at a very senior level. In Hong Kong we regularly attend the meetings of the
International Business Committee that is now being chaired by the Finanical Secretary –
the Guest of Honour at our last Heurigen.
Through InterCham we are in constant exchange with fellow foreign chambers and
continued the promotion of the D-A-CH label in Hong Kong to strengthen our presence.
We thank very much all our sponsors and supporters for their contributions in
enlivening our activities! We appreciate members’ initiatives to co-host interesting
topics. As 2024 was again the turn of Hong Kong to host the Austria Connect China
event we participated as proud sponsor bringing together Austrian business.
Despite all the political tensions continued work does prove successful. After years of
lobbying, also by this chamber, actually we termed it GBA-card, the authorities
introduced for Hong Kong permanent residents even of non-Chinese descent the
Mainland Travel Permit delivering travel ease on all China trips at immigration points.
Many thanks are due to all my colleagues for their dedicated service as well as to our
loyal membership who make AustroCham what it is.
Servus!