Dear Fellows and Members,

Being the president of the Year 2006, I am delighted to witness significant changes and breakthrough for The Hong Kong Institute of Housing and for the property management industry as a whole.

The HKSAR Government has, for the first time, called for a comprehensive study for the industry with an aim to reviewing the feasibility and possibility for full scale licensing for property management companies. On the other hand, the Institute has launched the compulsory CPD Scheme for all fellows and members. This is a crucial yet indeed a big step forward for full professional development and recognition for all members of the Institute. With the ever-growing demands of professional property management in Hong Kong and in the Mainland China, the full recognition of our industry like other professionals, such as surveyors and (or) architects will no longer be a distant goal for us .

Facing the new opportunities, all members of the General Council have made strenuous efforts to meet with the challenges and I would like to extend my sincere thanks here for their endeavours and unfailing contributions to maintain the leading position of the Institute amongst other professional bodies in the property management industry.

Highlights of their work are enlisted hereunder for your easy reference.

According to the records of the Membership Sub-Committee, the number of members of the Institute stands at 2,695 (as at 31.3.2007), which is roughly the same as March last year. The number of new members joined within the year is 300 while (whereas) 313 members have left the Institute because of the expiry of their membership dues. Upon full implementation of the compulsory CPD Scheme, the Membership Sub-Committee will monitor the situation of non-fulfillment and render necessary assistance to members in need so that they can timely fulfill the CPD requirements and register on-line without difficulties. The Sub-Committee has also initiated an enhancement programme to upgrade the Institute's existing web-page so that members can renew their membership on-line and register for their CPD activities at the same time. With this new web-based function, members can renew their membership at ease and it will also save lots of administrative time and resources of the Administrative Office.

It is encouraging to note from the reports of the Honorary Treasurer that the Institute is financially healthy. As at the end of March 2007, we have a members' fund of over HK$2.8 million in our bank account. The auditor's report will also be uploaded to our website for easy reference of the members.

Over the past year, the Education Sub-Committee has participated in the orientation programmes for students taking our validated courses to promote the professional image of the Institute among these prospective practitioners. With the increasing numbers of applications from universities seeking our validation of new courses in property and facility management, members of the Sub-Committee have devoted their efforts to study and review the course curricula in detail before making recommendations to the General Council. More new hands are needed to support the increasing workloads of the Sub-Committee in the coming year.

The most important task for the Sub-Committee in 2006 was the launch of the compulsory CPD Scheme. With the assistance of the newly recruited CPD Manager, 7 briefing sessions were organised with a total attendance of over 200 members. Briefings were also conducted for/given to individual organisations like the Housing Department and the Hong Kong Housing Society. Guidance Notes and CD ROMs were also distributed to each and every fellow and member for easy reference.

With a view to facilitating members to complete the new CPD requirements, the General Council has also approved to extend the submission date from 30.11.2006 to 30.4.2007. Insofar, 57% of members have completed the submission and renewal processes. The Administrative Office will continue to assist individual members to complete or further extend their submissions if necessary.

Representing the Institute, Mr Samuel SO and members of the Professional Practice Sub-Committee have actively participated in the organizing committee of the Quality Building Award over the past year. In recognition of their efforts, the Institute has been elected, amongst other professional Institutions, the Vice Chair of the organizing committee for QBA2008.

In addition, the Sub-Committee has also joined hands with Hong Kong Housing Society and the Home Affairs Department (Sham Shui Po District) to promote the importance of professional management amongst local owners' incorporations and property owners. A 9-week programme - Building Management Training for Community Leaders - was organised in August 2006 and over 60 owners passed the final assessment. With the success of this pilot programme, the Institute was/has been approached by the Home Affairs Department to extend the programme to other Districts in the coming (this) year.

As in the past years, both Sub-Committees have been actively involved in the organisation of various activities for our members. Over the past year, a total of 40 events were held and the response from members was extremely favourable including, for instances, the visit to Korea (jointly organised with The Chartered Institute of Housing - Asian Pacific Branch) and the nation-wide seminar on Urban Infrastructure Development and Construction Market Regulation co-organised by the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau and the Ministry of Construction in Urumqi last September.

To promote the professional image of the Institute across the society, Mr Allan WONG has assumed the position of Hon. Treasurer in the CPD Alliance, which comprises over 25 widely recognized professional Institutes and Associations in Hong Kong. In future, we will continue our participation in the activities organised by members of the CPD Alliance and other professional bodies so that more CPD opportunities can be opened to our members.

Being a member of Hong Kong Professional Property Services Alliance (the Alliance) since 2001, the Institute has played an active role in the regulation and betterment of the industry towards full professionalism. For example, we have given our opinions and proposal on the issues of minimum wages, the government's Compulsory Building Inspection Scheme and Voluntary Building Classification Scheme, amendments for the Building Management Ordinance (Cap 344) as well as the licensing for the industry. On the other hand, we have maintained a close collaboration with our counterparts in the Alliance as well as other fellow institutions like The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS) and The Hong Kong Institute of Facility Management (HKIFM) in the pursuit of full recognition of the property management profession.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks for the unveiled efforts made by the past presidents and councils. The road for full recognition of the property management profession is now straight and clear. With the continuous efforts of the new General Council, and of course full support from our members, I firmly believe that the way ahead will no longer be another mission impossible.

Cliff WONG
President

12 April 2007