A leading Hong Kong businessman, Victor Fung, Chairman of the Li & Fung Group of companies, will become the new Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC.
Li & Fung Group has major subsidiaries in trading, distribution and retailing, including publicly-listed Li & Fung Limited, Integrated Distribution Services Group Limited, and Convenience Retail Asia.
Mr Fung is also Chairman of the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council, the Hong Kong University Council, and the Hong Kong-Japan Business Co-operation Committee.
Mr Fung will assume the role of ICC Chairman on 1 July 2008, after having served for 18 months as ICC's Vice Chair. He will replace the current ICC Chairman, Marcus Wallenberg, who is an influential Swedish businessman and will become ICC Honorary Chairman.
Mr Fung, who will serve as ICC Chairman for two years, is also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Hong Kong Government Commission on Strategic Development, and head of a focus group for the Economic Summit on China's 11th Five-Year Plan and the Development of Hong Kong, organized by the Hong Kong Government.
Mr Fung is a strong advocate of the multilateral trading system. He has served as Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, as the Hong Kong representative on the APEC Business Advisory Council, and on the Informal Business Advisory Body to the World Trade Organization.
“With the global economy facing numerous interrelated challenges that are creating worldwide economic uncertainty, there has never been a greater need for world business to speak loudly and forcefully in favour of the multilateral trading system," said Mr Fung.
"ICC, which has a worldwide network of experts and works closely with governments and intergovernmental organizations, is well-positioned to help find global solutions to these obstacles to economic growth," he added.
In his address to the ICC World Council, Chairman-elect Fung said he also wanted to use his chairmanship to increase ICC's visibility in the Asia Pacific region.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Mr Fung holds bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in business economics from Harvard University. He was a professor at the Harvard Business School for four years before returning to Hong Kong in 1976.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.
The fundamental mission of ICC is to promote trade and investment across frontiers and help business corporations meet the challenges and opportunities of globalization. Its conviction that trade is a powerful force for peace and prosperity dates from its origins in 1919.
By Xuefei Chen People's Daily Online correspondent in Stockholm.
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