|
The HKSI was officially formed in December 1997. Despite its comparatively short history, the HKSI has quickly established itself as an integral part of the vibrant financial industry. Over the years, the HKSI has grown and developed with the full support from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s leading financial institutions, corporations and individuals, including various government departments and agencies, the SFC and the HKEx.
According to the latest census statistics, Hong Kong has about 180,000 professionals working in the fields of banking, securities, insurance and fund management, representing 5.3% of the total workforce. Compare this to London, where 10% of the workforce works in the financial services industry, there is plenty of potential for growth in Hong Kong.
As one of our missions is to set industry standards and integrity for our profession, our quality examination, training, seminar and membership programmes have been designed to promote business ethics and professional competence in the financial services industry.
MAJOR INITIATIVES
There is ample opportunity for the HKSI to promote our work in providing members and practitioners in the field with every opportunity for career development seminars, structured training programmes, conferences, delegations and professional examinations. The following is an outline of the recent initiatives:
Free Online Recruitment Platform – Jobs2Click
Hong Kong’s finance industry is expanding rapidly and as such many firms are searching for top-flight professionals to help them manage and grow their business. Jobs2Click is an exclusive service committed to serving the professional development needs of our members, both individual and corporate. The service is designed to put corporate members in touch with highcalibre candidates through an online platform that is efficient, easy-to-use and free.
HKSI Scholarship Programme
This programme, first introduced in 2004, aims to provide incentive and support to the new
generation of finance professionals. Top students and graduates in the finance and business streams of the seven local universities are offered complimentary access to selected HKSI training and seminar programmes. It is hoped that the top students and graduates will benefit from these practical and market focused programmes, which will complement their academic qualifications. In April 2007, a total of 63 awardees received their scholarships.
Outstanding Achievers Award Scheme
This award scheme is exclusively for candidates of the Licensing Examination (LE) in recognition of their excellent performance in their respective examinations. The LE candidate(s) who score the highest mark(s) (95% or above of the total score) in each LE Paper during a calendar year (so long as it is their first attempt at the examination) will be recognised as “Candidates of the Year”. In March 2007, all “Candidates of the Year” were invited to attend the HKSI Chairman’s Cocktail and presented with a “Certificate of Achievement”.
COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM
HKSI’s delegation to Shanghai
The HKSI Chairman Dr King-lun Au led a 40- member delegation to Shanghai in July 2007. The delegation visited Shanghai Municipal Government Financial Service Bureau, China Securities Regulatory Commission - Shanghai Office, Shanghai Stock Exchange, China Securities Index Company, Shanghai Futures Exchange and China Financial Futures Exchange. The two-day programme concluded with an in-depth discussion session with the China Futures Association.
The delegation provides a good platform to promote the interaction between Hong Kong and Shanghai, thereby enhancing development of both markets. Participants exchanged views on various issues and discussed extensively on areas relating to market development, regulatory trends, corporate governance, product research and investor education.
Business Ethics Forum
Being a professional membership organisation, the HKSI has dedicated resources to promote business ethics and best business practices among members. The “Business Ethics Forum”, first held in 2006, is now a permanent fixture in our annual events calendar.
The Forum, an exclusive event for members, was attended by over 200 members in June 2007. The 4-hour programme featured first with speakers who talked about business ethics from the legal and practitioners’ perspective. This was followed by presentations from the vantage point of the banking sector with a focus on compliance issues. A panel discussion based on questions from the audience concluded the Forum.
Seminar Series - Meeting with Your Regulators and Government Officials
The HKSI believes frank and forthright discussion is good for the industry’s future. As such a number of initiatives are designed to facilitate members, practitioners and leading industry figures can meet to share ideas and opinions.
Among these is the MYGO, or Meeting with Your Regulators and Government Officials series of presentations. In order to keep members updated with regulatory and market developments, specialists in their field are invited to present a series of seminars addressing the changes in policy and regulation. It is a chance for members to meet with officials from government and the regulator to discuss and debate the topics and issues of the day.
EXAMINATIONS
The HKSI provides finance practitioners with a comprehensive programme of examinations including:
- Licensing Examination for Securities and Futures Intermediaries
- HKSI Professional Diploma in Financial Markets
- MPF Intermediaries Examination
- CIIA® Final Examination
- PRC Securities Regulations Examination
Portability of Qualifications between Hong Kong and Mainland Markets
This year has seen a number of cross-border initiatives under the umbrella of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) that have opened up opportunities for finance professionals from both Hong Kong and Mainland China. Working closely with the Securities Association of China (SAC) and the China Futures Association, the HKSI has played a pivotal role in building mutual recognition and acceptance of securities and futures trading qualifications of professionals working in the two markets.
Paper one of the “Hong Kong Licensing Examination for Securities and Futures Intermediaries” was held in Shenzhen in October 2006 and overseen by the Shenzhen Securities Association, making this the third time the exam had been held in the city. Its success has prompted a similar initiative in April 2007 in the city of Shanghai, this time administered by the Shanghai Securities Association. With mutual recognition under CEPA being a two way street, the third examination for local professionals wishing to work in China’s securities and futures market was held in Hong Kong in May.
TRAINING
The Institute is strived to provide a comprehensive range of training programmes for our members and practitioners from front office to back, and with a global perspective that makes us one of the leading providers of professional qualifications to local finance industry practitioners.
Courses are offered in a variety of formats, ranging from entry level financial courses for people wishing to work in the securities industry to in-depth workshops and programmes for practitioners with different levels of competency. They include:
- Professional Education and Training Courses
- Joint Programmes
- In-house Training for Companies
- Professional Certificate Programmes
- e-courses
- Mainland China Training
INTEGRATED APPROACH
The HKSI recognises the importance our members place on the search for best talents and skills demanded by the industry. We also recognise the importance of providing ways and means for our members to achieve this goal, and how training and nurturing these talents differ between organisations.
In June we held a luncheon meeting for a group of training and human resources professionals from our corporate members. During the luncheon we shared the integrated approach we have adopted for our training and membership services. Today, the HKSI provides a full range of topics for the professional development of members and nonmembers in an effective and flexible manner.
Training topics cover operation, compliance, and technical skills, with related industry qualifications such as Investment Administration Qualification (IAQ), Licensing Examination for Securities and Futures Intermediaries (LE), Professional Diploma in Financial Markets (PDFM), Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA) set as benchmarks. With our open platform, we are able to deliver these topics and services through various channels including workshops, delegations, tours, in-house training, self-paced e-learning courses, and online seminars. Employers are offered a high degree of flexibility in training their staff and benchmarking their performance against our locally and internationally recognised industry qualifications. For individuals, they can design their own learning plan to meet their busy schedule.
With the addition of IAQ into our portfolio, the HKSI now offers a comprehensive range of educational programmes from front office to back, covering general skills to more specific technical analysis, and with a global perspective that makes us one of the leading providers of professional qualifications to local finance industry practitioners.
HONG KONG SECURITIES’ JOURNAL
The Hong Kong Securities journal is a magazine for our members and as such their feedback is essential if we are to deliver feature stories and articles pertinent to them. In response to a readership survey, two new features have been introduced: “Market Update” and “Reading List”.
In this increasingly globalised world, our industry can be influenced by events far from home, which is why “Market Update” aims to keep readers informed of the economic, political and regulatory changes in countries across the globe. While our primary focus is Asia, we will endeavour to include markets and jurisdictions we feel are relevant to local practitioners.
The “Reading List” is also geared towards keeping members up-to-date with the literature being written by and for professionals like themselves. The books are chosen for their reflection of current thinking and ideas, as well as their ability to deliver the message in an informative and sometimes entertaining manner.
CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP
The HKSI is unique in the fact we are the only institution in Hong Kong that encompasses many professions and industries. Our membership boasts finance industry practitioners from brokers to lawyers, and from accountants to bankers.
We are working towards the goal of building a bigger membership base from across all professions, thus making the Institute truly representative of Hong Kong’s finance industry and the many professionals working within it.
Affiliation with the leading industry professional is an important step taken for career advancement. Practitioners in the financial and investment industry will be eligible to apply to join the Institute if they meet the membership requirements.
Through our quality seminars and workshops, training programmes and professional examinations, individual members are connected to a network of experienced practitioners.
Corporate membership in the HKSI is open to securities firms, investment houses, banks and other organisations, who seek to be actively involved in the industry, are keen to raise and sustain high standards in securities and investment, and would like to participate in the Institute’s policy making and securities related activities.
A range of VIP programmes such as the Chairman’s Dinner and Executive Briefing alongside with our quality seminars and customised in-house training programmes will be available to corporate members and their staff as part of the corporate membership package. |
