The Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs (SUCCESS) is an information and advisory centre for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) run by the Trade and Industry Department (TID).  If you are looking for free business information and practical consultation services, please visit SUCCESS.

Our Website's address is www.success.tid.gov.hk.

Our customer hotline is : (852) 2398 5133.

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What's New

Hong Kong and Singapore reach in-principle agreement to establish bilateral Air Travel Bubble

Hong Kong and Singapore reached an in-principle agreement to establish a bilateral Air Travel Bubble (ATB) on 14 October 2020.  Both governments are committed to fleshing out the full details of the ATB in the coming weeks.  The launch date of the ATB and other implementation details will be announced in due course.  

Please click here to browse the relevant press release.

Event Calendar of the SME Centres

To enhance the integrated services of the four existing SME Centres, including SUCCESS under the Trade and Industry Department, the "SME Centre" under the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), "SME One" under the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and "TecONE" under the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, SUCCESS has launched an "Event Calendar of the SME Centres" on its website. The Event Calendar facilitates enterprises to obtain information on seminars/workshops/activities organised by the four SME Centres from a single platform, and also provides links to the relevant event web pages to facilitate registration.

Please click here to browse the Event Calendar of the SME Centres.

Support Measures relating to Liquidity

In view of the cash-flow pressure of SMEs, SUCCESS has compiled a summary of support measures relating to liquidity.

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Business Support Measures Amid Economic Challenges 

The HKSAR Government has announced various measures totalling $311.5 billion in the 2020/21 Budget and three rounds of Anti-epidemic Fund to assist the industries and the public affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic.  For details, please click here.  As for the Government's measures to support the business community to cope with the economic challenges, please click here for details.

SME ReachOut

Amid difficult business environment, HKPC knows SMEs are in the urgent need of cash to keep business running.  The newly established "SME ReachOut" support team is here to help SMEs well equip for bouncing back, through introducing and matching the appropriate funding schemes. 

"SME ReachOut", a dedicated service team operated by HKPC, has commenced operation starting from 1 January 2020 to support SMEs through free-of-charge one-on-one meetings.  The team would help SMEs identify funding schemes that suit their needs, while answering questions relating to applications.  

There are over 40 funding schemes provided by the Government for SMEs, with different funding scopes, amounts and requirements.  "SME ReachOut" serves to enhance SMEs' understanding of the Government's funding schemes, with a view to encouraging better utilisation of the support provided by the Government, and to enhancing their competitiveness and development.  

For enquiries, please contact "SME ReachOut" hotline at 2788 6262 or email at sme_reachout@hkpc.org. 

 

SUCCESS Activities

Webinar: "Managing Self, Managing Time"

(This webinar will be live-streamed on 22 October 2020)

Effective time management is essential for both personal and professional lives.  In this seminar, human resources expert will offer advice on how to effectively manage time, including identifying the time wasters, ways to eliminate them, and how to better utilise time under the work from home arrangement.  Speaker will also recommend tools to manage time in the workplace. (This webinar will be conducted in Cantonese.)

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Webinar: "Exploring ASEAN Production Opportunities: Indonesia"

(This webinar will be live-streamed on 30 October 2020)

This webinar is co-organised by SUCCESS and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.  In view of the US-China trade conflicts, many manufacturers have relocated part of their production facilities to ASEAN countries.  Notably, Indonesia possesses abundant labour supply and rich resources, making it an alternative production option for Hong Kong companies.  This seminar will discuss the labour market, logistics and manufacture development in Indonesia.  Enterprise representative will also be invited to share with participants the practical experience of production in Indonesia.  Moreover, representatives from the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department and the Hong Kong Productivity Council will be invited to introduce "the Free Trade Agreement Transhipment Facilitation Scheme", and the "FTA Programme" under "the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales" (BUD Fund) respectively. (This webinar will be conducted in Cantonese.)

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Trade and Industry Department / SUCCESS-supported Activities

SME Service Centres' "4-in-1" Seminar Series — Theme : Digital Transformation

The Government has consolidated the services of the four SME Centres since October 2019 (SUCCESS of the Trade and Industry Department, the SME Centre of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, SME One of the Hong Kong Productivity Council and TecONE of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation) to provide "four-in-one" integrated services.  The four Centres are co-organising the second "4-in-1" seminar series in October 2020 to share insights and tips on implementing digital transformation in business through four webinars.

The webinar "China New Retail Strategy: 3-Steps to Entering the Market" organised by SME One of the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the webinar "Navigating through the Epidemic Tide – Tips on E-commerce and Online Marketing" organised by SUCCESS of the Trade and Industry Department were successfully held on 8 and 16 October respectively.  The two remaining webinars to be respectively organised by the SME Centre of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and TecONE of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation will both be held on 22 October.  Interested persons are welcome to join.  Admission is Free.  Please register at the links below.

I.  T-box Workshop on "Tax and Legal Overview on the Emerging Ecommerce Business"

(To be held on 22 October 2020 by the SME Centre of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council as live streaming webinar)

In this workshop, tax and legal industry experts are invited to share their insights regarding the development of the e-Commerce industry and also practical tax and legal tips for e-commerce entrepreneurs.  (This webinar will be conducted in Cantonese.)

Please click here for details and registration.  This webinar will be uploaded on this webpage for review later.   

II.  Using Technology to Upgrade or Transform Business Processes

(To be held on 22 October 2020 by TecONE of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation as live streaming webinar)

This webinar will share insights and the latest trend of using technology solution to improve operation efficiency in Construction and Facility Management, Human Resource Management and Building Services Engineering Management.  TecONE will also share some tips for the application of Technology Voucher Programme under the Innovation and Technology Commission. (This webinar will be conducted in Cantonese.)

Please click here for details and registration.

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Webinar: "Adapting to the New Normal: Work Culture, Employer Branding and Talent Management"

(This webinar will be live-streamed on 4 November 2020)

This webinar is organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council.  SUCCESS is one of the supporting organisations.  This webinar will share how to promote employer branding under the pandemic, and introduce the use of human resources analytics tools with a view to improving work efficiency. (This webinar will be conducted in Cantonese.)

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Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund)

BUD Fund provides funding support to individual non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in undertaking projects to develop brands, upgrade and restructure their business operations and promote sales in the Mainland and ASEAN* markets, so as to enhance their competitiveness and facilitate their business development in these markets. 

To strengthen support to enterprises in exploring new markets and new business opportunities, TID rolled out a new round of enhancement measures to the BUD Fund in January 2020.  The enhancement measures include extending the geographical coverage of the Fund to all economies with which Hong Kong has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)**; increasing the cumulative funding ceiling per enterprise to $4 million, including $2 million for projects in the Mainland and $2 million for projects in ASEAN and other FTA markets; and increasing the ratio of initial payment from 25% to up to 75% of the total approved government funding.

Further enhancements to the BUD Fund have been effective since 9 April 2020, including the removal of the geographical demarcation for each enterprise in undertaking projects in the Mainland and other economies which have signed FTAs with Hong Kong ($2 million cumulative funding each).  Enterprises can flexibly make use of the total funding of up to $4 million to undertake projects in the Mainland or other economies which have signed FTAs with Hong Kong.  Besides, enterprises participating in virtual exhibitions organised by Government-related organisations or reputable exhibition organisers with good track records are eligible for funding support under the BUD Fund.

HKPC has been engaged as the implementation partner of the BUD Fund to implement the funding scheme.  Online application service has been available from 30 June 2020 onwards.  Please contact HKPC at 2788 6088 or visit the official website of the BUD Fund ( www.bud.hkpc.org/en/ ) for details of the funding scheme.  HKPC also regularly organises seminars to enhance enterprises’ understanding of the BUD Fund.

* ASEAN comprises Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

* *Including the Mainland, New Zealand, the four member states of the European Free Trade Association (i.e. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), Chile, Macao, the ten member states of ASEAN, Georgia and Australia.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data: "Privacy-Friendly Awards"

The Privacy-Friendly Awards organised by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) aim to commend organisations for protecting personal data privacy.  The inaugural Privacy-Friendly Awards 2021 is now open for application. Deadline for application is 6 November 2020.  Organisations which are data users controlling personal data in or from Hong Kong under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance are welcome to join the Awards. 

Please contact the PCPD at telephone: 2877 7147 (Ms Leung)/3423 6663 (Mr Lam), fax at: 2877 7026 or email at privacyfriendlyawards@pcpd.org.hk for enquiries about the Awards and application procedures.

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Intellectual Property Department: IP Manager Scheme PLUS

The Intellectual Property Department has launched the "Intellectual Property (IP) Manager Scheme PLUS", which provides more comprehensive and in-depth IP training courses to cater for specific duties and career development needs of IP Managers so as to help establish their expertise and skills.  Enterprises registered in Hong Kong can join the Scheme for free.

More Details and Application Link

Intellectual Property Department: "IP 101: IP Basics Course"

(This course will be live-streamed on 1 & 2 December 2020)

"IP 101: IP Basics Course" is organised by Intellectual Property Department, covering four lectures, namely "IP Rights in Business and Understanding Trademarks", "Importance of Copyright and Designs in Digital Age", "How Patent Protects Your Invention" and "Basic Concepts of IP Trading".  The course will introduce the basic knowledge of various intellectual properties, enabling participants to understand the rights of IP owners and users so as to enhance their capability of protecting and managing IP rights within the enterprise.  (Registration fee is required.  This programme will be conducted in Cantonese.)

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Corruption Prevention Advisory Service (CPAS) of ICAC

A good governance system is vital for SMEs' effective operation, and can help sustain their company image and hence counterparts' confidence in doing business with them.  The Corruption Prevention Department of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has launched the Corruption Prevention Advisory Service (CPAS). The CPAS is a specialised unit dedicated to providing tailor-made, free and confidential corruption prevention advice on system control in common business areas such as procurement and staff administration.  Enterprises can access its user-friendly web portal ( https://cpas.icac.hk/EN/ ) for details of the services and to get timely and useful resources on corruption prevention such as staff code of conduct, corruption prevention guides and tools, case studies, quick tips and red flags.

To receive regular updates on corruption prevention, please click here to subscribe to the CPAS e-news.

Free IP Consultation Service

The Intellectual Property Department (IPD), supported by the Law Society of Hong Kong, now provides FREE One-On-One IP Consultation Service for SMEs.  To obtain more information and/or apply for the Service, please visit IPD's dedicated website "Hong Kong - The IP Trading Hub": https://www.ip.gov.hk/ipcs-e.

Topical Issues

Video Show of SME Seminars

In order to reduce the risk of the spread of the novel coronavirus in the community, SUCCESS will not provide "Video Show of SME Seminars" for the public until further notice. 

Business News

GDETO Newsletter

The latest issue of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong (GDETO) Newsletter has been published.

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Commercial Information Circulars (CICs) of the Mainland

The Trade and Industry Department issued a number of Commercial Information Circulars (CICs) on the Mainland's trade and economic rules and regulations. The latest CICs have been published. 

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