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The following is issued on behalf of the Organising Committee of the Hong Kong Awards for Industries:
The 2012 Hong Kong Awards for Industries (HKAI) is open for entries from today (December 5). Hong Kong companies in the manufacturing and services sectors are welcome to join. The closing date is February 17, 2012.
The HKAI is championed by the Government and aims to recognise the outstanding achievements of Hong Kong enterprises in pursuit of high technology and high value-added activities, and to commend excellence in various aspects of their performance. The HKAI also helps to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong industries and promote Hong Kong brands.
The Chairman of the Organising Committee of the HKAI and Director-General of Trade and Industry, Ms Maria Kwan, gave an overview of the awards and their history at a press conference today.
"Over the years, more than 840 companies have received awards. They include multinational enterprises as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. The outstanding performances showcased by these awardees are not confined to Hong Kong - some of their services or products also reached overseas and received high praise," she said.
In introducing the design of the HKAI logo, Ms Kwan said its concept was the juxtaposition of two precious elements, a pearl and a pierced jade amulet. It has happy connotations in both Chinese and Western contexts. In Chinese, the two words together signify a perfect match. In the Western context, the two symbols together form the letter "Q", which is widely associated with the concept of quality.
The HKAI comprises six categories, each organised by one leading organiser:
Category Organiser
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Consumer Product Federation of Hong Kong
Design Industries
Machinery and Machine The Chinese Manufacturers'
Tools Design Association of Hong Kong
Customer Service Hong Kong Retail
Management Association
Innovation and Hong Kong General
Creativity Chamber of Commerce
Productivity and Hong Kong Productivity
Quality Council
Technological Hong Kong Science and
Achievement Technology Parks Corporation
Adjudication in each award category is carried out by a preliminary judging panel arranged by individual leading organisers. A final judging panel, to be chaired by Professor Tony F Chan, will then be convened to decide the winners. Only one grand award will be presented in each category and that will be given to the most outstanding entry in the category. Other deserving entries will be presented with an award or a certificate of merit. All award winners are entitled to display the official logo of the HKAI for three years and receive the HKAI trophy or certificate as a permanent memento of their achievements.
Summing up, Ms Kwan appealed to enterprises to make use of the opportunity brought about by the HKAI to showcase their outstanding products or services. "The National 12th Five-Year Plan is proactively expanding the domestic market. Hong Kong enterprises need to develop their own brands and promote their products and services if they want to get a share in the market. The HKAI thus provides a valuable opportunity for them," she said.
Entry forms and brochures are now available from the respective organisers. They can also be downloaded from the HKAI website at www.hkindustryaward.org.
The 2012 HKAI media partners are Hong Kong Economic Times and Metro Broadcast Corporation Limited. For further information, please visit the HKAI website or contact the respective leading organisers (contact details on the website) or the Trade and Industry Department (Secretariat of the Organising Committee of the HKAI can be contacted via email at hkai@tid.gov.hk or call 2398 5551).
Ends/Monday, December 5, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:32
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