Hong Kong Boating Industry Assoc - up and running

Hong Kong Boating Industry Assoc © Guy Nowell

The Hong Kong Boating Industry Association (HKBIA) is now legally established and a Council will be elected at the Inaugural General Meeting.

The Hong Kong Boating Industry Association, a trade association that represents all sectors of the leisure marine industry is now up and running. “It’s remarkable,” said Simon Boyde, Acting Chairman, “that although Hong Kong has the biggest concentration of pleasure vessels in Asia, and is undoubtedly the biggest centre of boating in the region, the industry has no representative association – unlike all our neighbours. This has now been fixed and around 30 companies have now joined and paid their membership fees.”

Now that the Association has been legally established, a Council will be formed consisting of a Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer plus eight members (one from each of the HK Marine Industry Sectors. This leads to the next step, which is the Inaugural General Meeting to held soon (date to be confirmed) where paid up members of the Association will elect the officers and appoint industry sector representatives for the eight sectors, which are:

1. Boat Brokers 2. Boat Charter / Yacht Management 3. Builders / Yards / Manufacturers 4. Chandlers / Distributors 5. Marinas / Clubs / Training Organisations 6. Professional Services / Transportation / Safety Equipment Servicing 7. Technical Services / Repairs / Installations 8. Media / PR

Hong Kong Boating Industry Assoc - photo © Guy Nowell

“We believe that it is absolutely essential that the HKBIA be representative of as many companies as possible under the umbrella of the leisure marine industry,” said Louise Connolly, Acting Treasurer. “The amount of immediate support for the initiative shows that such an Association is long overdue for the industry.”

It is intended that the Sectors will meet on a monthly basis, and report back to the Council. Corporate Members of the HKBIA may register with up to two sectors at the time of enlisting. The proposed fee structure is pitched “deliberately low” in order to encourage all companies – big or small - to join the Association. Individual Membership has been proposed and details to be determined by the new Council, once it has been formed. Only with an appropriate level of inclusiveness and professionalism will the HKBIA be properly recognised both locally and internationally, and be in a position to approach Government and other bodies with the authority to speak on behalf of industry participants.

Thanks go to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club for hosting the preliminary meeting, and to Ince Law for the pro bono work done in helping to set up the Association. With a green light from the industry the future of the pleasure boating industry in Hong Kong is looking very positive indeed.

For more information on the HKBIA please contact:

Acting Chair: Simon Boyde, +852 90312555, simon@stormforcemarine.com

Acting Secretary: Suzy Rayment, +852 9680 3511, suzy.rayment@asiayachtpress.com

Acting Treasurer: Louise Connolly, +852 6406 4247, louise@stormforcemarine.com