Surprised by the COVID-19 Pandemic, many companies and professionals have been forced to work remotely at home. The ongoing trend to put people at the center of companies’ focus will be largely influencing the concepts and design of office spaces and new workspaces.

The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao and the Innovation and Technology Working Group (I&TWG) of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce is glad to propose to you the webinar “Sensors in the workplace – Employees wellbeing for productivity and retention” dedicated to exploring some technological applications into this domain sharing experiences of different speakers.

The webinar is tailored for a diverse audience of International Large and SMEs Corporate C-levels (e.g., CEOs, CTOs, COO, etc.) and Senior Managers in different functional areas, including Production, Business Development, Human Resources, ICT, Product/Service Developments, Sales and After-Sales.

Program:

• 17:00 Welcome Speech and Introduction I&TWG program for 2021 – Gianluca Giorgi I&T WG Coordinator and Founder of ES Automation Consultants LTD.
• 17:05 The future workplace; Trends for technological applications and introduction of the two case studies for the Webinar – Rosanna Terminio, AsecorpChina Business Consulting, and PhD Candidate UOC.
• 17:15 Case study 1: Air Quality in the Workplace: Health, Efficiency, and Comfort – Luciano Marzaro, Managing Director, Carel China.
• 17:30 Case study 2: Lighting for Wellbeing in Office Spaces – Luca Tarsetti, APAC Regional Director, iGuzzini.
• 17:45 Q&A and closing – Rosanna Terminio.

Organized in collaboration with Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide and The Executive Centre, The Italian Chamber of Commerce is glad to present the open discussion – Hybrid Talk: Empowered Women Empower Women – in the conclusion of the social campaign promoted by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

On Monday, March 8th, join us on this meaningful discussion.

Speakers from various industries will share their life experiences through an intriguing open conversation. Our guests will have a chance to gain more insights into the significance of being a woman in today’s age.

The event will conclude with an open Q&A session between the audience and our guests.

Please note that a limited number of physical guests will be allowed to participate in this event.

Book your ticket and reserve your spot!

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Chelsea Perino, Managing Director, Global Marketing & Communications, The Executive Centre

With an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Linguistics from NYU and after a four-year solo trip around the world, Chelsea Perino first discovered her love for advertising in Cape Town, South Africa.

Now based in Hong Kong, Chelsea is the Managing Director, Global Marketing & Communications at The Executive Centre, Asia’s leading premium flexible workspace provider.

Chelsea is passionate about organizational culture and believes that creating a dynamic and collaborative working experience positively affects team morale, productivity, and fosters community. Through a newly developed global marketing strategy and complete re-brand, her goal is to establish The Executive Centre as the leader in workspace experience, community, and corporate-culture facilitation.

Selma Masood, Principal, SM & Co Solicitors

Selma is the Principal of SM & Co Solicitors. She was born and raised in Hong Kong and comes from a mixed background, with her mum from Hong Kong and her late father, from Iran. Selma qualified as a Solicitor in Hong Kong in 2006 and in early May 2016, she set up SM & Co Solicitors, which is in association with international Italian law firm Gianni & Origoni, which has a dedicated Hong Kong branch.

She graduated from the University of Manchester with a Bachelor of Music Degree and Bachelor of Law Degree, as well as the University of Hong Kong for the Post Graduate Certificate of Laws.

Selma’s motto of success is ‘I never dreamed about success. I worked for it’.

Ines Gafsi, Co-Founder of Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide

Ines leads FEW international developments, strategic partnerships and sponsorships, and special programs like Inspiring Girls Hong Kong.

As a collaborative leader, Ines’s passion is in bringing together established businesses and startups, enabling greater female empowerment and impact. The team assists those with potential and those failing to reach their potential to overcome barriers and grow their business to the next level.

Ines enjoys dynamic environments, connecting with people, and making things happen. She has served as a speaker at the SCMP’s Game Changers, AmCham Women of Influence awards and voted “Top 10 Female Entrepreneurs in Hong Kong” by Hong Kong Tatler.

Elvie Lahournere, Director, Digital & Innovation, Asia Pacific at Natixis

Elvie is Director, Digital & Innovation, Asia Pacific at Natixis as part of the bank’s move towards digitalization in the pursuit of creating high value-added solutions for its clients. In this role, Elvie is responsible for promoting and facilitating the Digital and Innovation Strategy across the APAC platform and the bank globally.

Elvie also developed her deep knowledge and network within the technology landscape in China as the co-founder and vice president of French Tech Hong Kong Shenzhen and Beijing.

After 15 years of experience across Asia and Europe, with expertise in operational, and strategy development across different industries, Elvie has held senior roles with several technologies and strategy businesses based in China such as Alten, Airbus, and most recently Roland Berger.

Elvie Lahournere holds an MSc Mechanical and Engineering and an Executive MBA from Insead – Tsinghua University. In a spare time, she loves supporting Nonprofit girls’ education in Hong Kong and is deeply involved in tech for good different groups in Asia.

MODERATOR

Dr. Esterina Nervino, Director of Retail in Asia, Bluebell (Asia) Ltd. Esterina is currently the Director of Retail in Asia (part of Bluebell) and is in charge of the media brand operations including content selection, curation, edition, and media strategy. Additionally, she is involved in communication and ESG projects for the group. She is also Chairman of the Retail Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Women’s Leadership Network of The Italian Chamber of Commerce. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where she is a member of the Research Centre for Professional Communication in English. Her research interests include luxury and art, luxury and space, luxury and ESG, country of origin effect and language use, retail experience, intercultural communication.

Hong Kong being a well-established international financial centre, the effective professional services and extensive financial foundation attract many multinational corporations migrating or establishing new businesses in Hong Kong. In particular, many corporations are interested to establish global or regional corporate treasury centres (“CTCs”) in Hong Kong.

In order to provide new job opportunities and attracting highly skilled people to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government has also offered tax concessions to attract companies to domicile their special business such as aircraft leasing, ship leasing, and captive insurance business in Hong Kong.

The Italian Chamber of Commerce is glad to invite you to attend this webinar “Hong Kong Preferential Tax Regime Updates”. The purpose of this seminar is to provide insights on the preferential tax regimes in Hong Kong with the highlight on certain businesses namely CTCs, aircraft leasing, ship leasing, and captive insurances. EY would provide the details of the tax concessions and insights on the application of the relevant tax legislation on these businesses.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Wilson Cheng, Partner, Greater China Tax Controversy Co-Leader Hong Kong Tax Controversy Leader, EY

Wilson is the Tax Controversy Leader in Hong Kong as well as the Tax Controversy Co-Leader in Greater China, with more than 20 years of Hong Kong corporate tax controversy and advisory experiences. He provides a wide spectrum of tax controversy services to conglomerates, listed companies as well as the US and European-based multinational corporations.

He has extensive experiences in dealing with Hong Kong tax authorities, e.g. assisting corporations in settling pro-longed tax disputes on contentious tax issues in Hong Kong such as offshore claim lodged by multinational corporations, capital gain claim on real estate properties, tax audit, and investigation on small-medium enterprises. More recently, he assisted clients to lodge an appeal to the Board of Review for controversial Hong Kong tax matters. His other tax experiences include group structure rationalization, cross-border transaction planning, IPO review, and restructuring.

While focusing on retail and consumer product as well as real estate, hospitality, and construction industry sectors, Wilson also has diverse industry experiences, including technology, entertainment, media, and telecommunications sectors.

Wilson regularly contributes tax technical articles to newspapers and technical journals and is a frequent speaker at tax seminars organized by various professional bodies in Hong Kong. He also serves as the Committee Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Hong Kong from 2018/19 onwards and is the co-chairman of the taxation sub-committee of ACCA Hong Kong. From 2012/13 to 2015/16, he was the Council Member of the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong and was the founding organizer of the CTA Conference in Hong Kong.

Thomas Lee, Senior Manager, Business Tax Services, EY

Thomas has extensive experience in tax advisory on group structure rationalization and restructuring, pre-acquisition, pre-IPO review, offshore profits claim, applying Tax Residency Certificates, handling various enquiries from the Hong Kong Inland Revenue as well as negotiation and conclusion of compromised settlement proposal with the Hong Kong Inland Revenue.

Specifically, some notable projects Thomas has advised on include:

• Partnering with the transfer pricing, international tax, and law teams advising on corporate amalgamations, business transfer, development of supply chain strategies, transfer pricing, offshore profits claim, application of tax treaty benefits, all the way down to implementation, reporting, and compliance.
• Concluding compromised settlement proposals with the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department, identifying valid arguments supported by precedent cases and the department’s prevailing practice.

Thomas has diverse industry experience, including technology and telecommunication, construction and infrastructure, diversified industrial products, retail and consumer products, real estate, etc.

He is dedicated to helping clients achieve business success by providing business taxation advisory service that meets each client’s unique objectives.

Vincent Tse, Senior Manager, Business Tax Services, EY

Vincent has more than 10 years of professional experience in the taxation field and is currently a Tax Senior Manager in EY Hong Kong.

He is responsible for providing tax consultancy and compliance services to multi-national and local companies, particularly those in the industries of luxury goods, food, property development, retail, energy, manufacturing, and logistics.

He has extensive experience in Hong Kong and regional tax advisory assignments including corporate restructuring, pre-IPO planning, tax health checks, tax due diligence, and dispute resolution.

In addition to advising clients on corporate tax matters, Vincent also supports clients in all aspects of a legal entity’s lifecycle, including entity creation, compliance, management of corporate changes, governance, and dissolution, with the objective of helping clients achieve compliance and best practice around corporate governance.

Vincent advised a wide array of international and local corporations on matters in relation to the appropriate forms of setups, corporate reorganizations, stamp duty filing, and exemption applications or statutory compliance and reporting, etc.

With Covid-19 having changed people’s perceptions about where they can live and work, many families are considering relocating either back to their country of origin, or to a new and more exotic destination.

The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao is pleased to propose to you the webinar “International Mobility in a World of Covid-19 – European Opportunities and Points for Reflection” organized by Withers.

Whilst the United Kingdom and the United States remain popular destinations, certain European countries are increasingly presenting opportunities and incentives.

The speakers will explore the following:

• Residency options in Europe.
• Relevant tax and estate planning incentives in various European countries.
• Family law considerations include divorced/separated parents relocating with children.
• Nuptial Agreements and European marriage contracts.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Ugo Privitera, Registered foreign lawyer, Hong Kong

Ugo is a senior associate in the private client and tax team of the Hong Kong office at Withers and is a dual qualified English Solicitor and Italian lawyer (avvocato). He mainly advises clients on international succession, tax, trust and estate planning, investment structuring and probate as well as on complex cross-border inheritance matters with common law and civil law angles.

He is an expert in EU Regulations affecting private individuals, such as the Succession Regulation and the Matrimonial Property Regimes Regulations.

Ugo joined the London office of the firm in 2010 and, up to August 2014, worked with the UK Italian Desk on matters with a main Italian angle. As an avvocato, he built a significant expertise on investments in the Italian real estate market, tax and succession issues, corporate and commercial deals. He then focussed on private client and tax matters, and, as a solicitor, has acquired extensive international expertise in that area. He relocated to the Hong Kong office in March 2019.

Vanessa Duff (Mitchell), Senior Associate, Hong Kong 

Vanessa is a senior associate in the divorce and family team of the Hong Kong office at Withers.

Vanessa is qualified in England & Wales and Hong Kong, and she is a native French speaker.

She has over 12 years of experience in advising on all aspects of family law and issues which result from the breakdown of a relationship, including divorce, financial arrangements, and separation. She also advises clients in connection with disputes involving children, to include the financial aspects, issues relating to custody, care and control and access, as well as on applications for leave to remove a child from the jurisdiction.

Vanessa has particular expertise in dealing with cases which have an international perspective, with a particular interest in cases having a Hong Kong-European dimension and jurisdictional disputes. She has numerous relationships with foreign lawyers and is able to manage multi-country cases and rapidly source foreign advice where necessary.

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The Honourable Paul MP Chan, GBM, GBS, MH, JP, Financial Secretary, the Government of the HKSAR, will deliver his 2021-2022 Budget Speech to the Legislative Council on 24th February 2021.

Every year, the Hong Kong business community hosts a luncheon for hundreds of executives to hear the Financial Secretary elaborate on the details of his latest Budget. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, this year that is not possible. However, we are deeply honoured that Mr Chan has accepted our invitation to speak to the Hong Kong business community online on 12th March. Attendees will be able to hear Mr Chan discuss the Government’s plans to steer its fiscal policy and enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness. Not least, he will also discuss measures to help Hong Kong businesses cope with the extreme difficulties they are experiencing as the global economy struggles with this pandemic.

*Please note that this free webinar is exclusively for members only.