Sun Life Hong Kong today announces the appointment of Mr. Andy MP Wong as Senior Vice President, Agency and Retail Distribution. In his new role, Mr. Wong is responsible for supervising a growing agency force, recruitment and professional training and development, as well as support for the sales force.

Mr. Wong has extensive and strong experience in life insurance industry and financial services. Prior to joining Sun Life, Mr. Wong held senior positions at Manulife in Hong Kong and Canada, where he won the “Best Agency Builder Award” in 1997, Canada. Mr. Wong also worked for AIA as General Manager in Shenzhen and Dongguan, China.

With the theft of intellectual property and brand counterfeiting becoming ever more prolific in Asia, risk management consultancy Asia Risk (HK) has appointed Bob Youill to spearhead its services in this important area of enterprise risk. With a wealth of experience in anti-piracy, intellectual property and brand protection, Bob Youill' s new appointment strengthens Asia Risk' s position in offering businesses comprehensive risk management solutions.

To big corporations in highly competitive markets, the problem of IP and brand theft is a major threat to their bottom line and, in many cases, their very survival. Attacks by organized criminals and opportunists are rife across many sectors, including the fashion and entertainment industries, pharmaceuticals, IT and software, food & drinks and the automotive industries.

Statistics are startling. In some sectors, major companies that rely on the integrity of their brands are losing up to 40% of revenue to these criminal acts. The pharmaceutical sector alone is estimated to be losing US$8bn per annum. The whole fabric of a company is threatened since IP and brand risks interact with other risk areas such as finance, HR, corporate security, R&D, manufacturing and product safety. Both supply and value chains are vulnerable to such threats. Ultimately, but often with remarkable speed and stealth, a company's image and reputation may suffer as well as resulting in permanent damage to its individual brands. An organisation's sales, revenues and share values may be hit to such an extent that the survival of the organization itself becomes uncertain.

Commenting on these threats, Bob Youill said: "IP and brand protection is a vital aspect of the robust enterprise risk management required for an organisation to meet its corporate governance obligations to shareholders and other stakeholders. However, most companies rarely take into account the political, economic, legal, social and global contexts in which the business seeks to sell its products and gain market share. Their IP protection solutions are often reactive and short-term in nature, narrow in scope and lack long-term cost-effectiveness. They often confuse top-down corporate IP and brand protection with low-level security and litigation responses. Asia Risk's 'joined-up thinking' life-cycle approach is different and aimed at tackling the problem throughout all phases of a product’s life cycle so as to counter IP threats before they have the capability to cause damage”.

With 20 years' experience with the Hong Kong Police, leading many successful campaigns fighting organized crime, coupled with a further 10 years as Asia Pacific' s Regional Anti-Piracy Enforcement Director for the global music industry, Bob Youill is well positioned for his consulting role as Head of Enterprise Risk Services at Asia Risk.

Chief Executive at Asia Risk, Dr Alan Waring said: "Intellectual property and brand protection are a major concern for many industries. Bob' s experience in this field will undoubtedly be a great asset to our clients in his new position as Head of Enterprise Risk Services."

Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced that Christopher Chi-Ho Lin has been appointed as president for Greater China. Lin is responsible for all of Sun's business in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and managing relationships with key customers and partners.

Lin succeeds Lionel Lim who served as acting president for Greater China for the past 10 months. Lim will resume his roles as chief of operations, Asia Pacific, and president, Asia South, Sun Microsystems, effective today.

Denis Heraud, President, Asia Pacific, Sun Microsystems said, "Greater China is one of our fastest growing markets in Asia Pacific. Lionel has done an outstanding job leading many initiatives in Greater China culminating in approximately 15 per cent year-over-year growth in our most recent quarter. I am confident that Chris will continue the strong momentum we are experiencing in Greater China and his extensive experience in the region will further strengthen our relationships with customers and partners."

Prior to joining Sun Microsystems, Lin was senior vice president of Global Sales for Opnext Inc., a fibre optic technology supplier to large optical equipment manufacturers. He was responsible for sales and marketing operations for Opnext in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Previously Lin served as chief operating officer for Lucent Technologies China and as vice president of the wireless networks group. He has also held product development positions at Siemens Telecommunication Systems, Limited (Taiwan) and system engineering positions at Bellcore (now Telcordia Technologies).

Lin has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Washington and a Master of Science Degree from Colombia University, USA. He is looking forward to moving with his family to Beijing.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), the New Zealand Government's economic development agency, has announced the appointment of Sharon-May McCrostie as its new Trade Commissioner to Hong Kong and Macau, continuing New Zealand's drive to develop trade in the North Asian region.

As Trade Commissioner to Hong Kong and Macau, McCrostie will work to promote trade opportunities and strategic alliances between New Zealand and companies in Hong Kong and Macau. She will also oversee the NZTE office in Hong Kong.

"New Zealand already has strong ties to Hong Kong and we see it as having a very advantageous position in Asia, especially with its strong connections to China. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise has had significant success in Hong Kong in growing trade relationships and creating a presence in Asia, especially in the biotech, food and beverage and creative sectors," said McCrostie.

" I'm eager to build upon this progress and to continue to strengthen the excellent relationships we have already forged."

NZTE established its first concept centre in the world, New Zealand Focus, in Hong Kong in November 2005 and McCrostie says the centre's success shows there is an interest in what New Zealand can offer in Hong Kong’s sophisticated market. The centre is now a model for replication in other markets such as Shanghai and Tokyo.

McCrostie has five years' experience with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in client management roles in the food and beverage sector, with regional responsibility for F&B projects in North Asia. She also spent five years with Enza (previously New Zealand's Apple & Pear Marketing Board), including as the North Asia Marketing Manager based in Singapore.

McCrostie replaces David Wishart, who heads back to New Zealand this month.

HONG KONG, February 11, 2008 -- International arbitration lawyers Steven Y. H. Lim and Alejandro Escobar have joined Baker Botts L.L.P. as special counsel. Both have extensive experience representing clients in international arbitrations, including investment treaty and commercial disputes.

The addition of Lim and Escobar reflects the continued expansion of Baker Botts' international dispute resolution group. Lim, who joined the firm on January 1, 2008, is based in the Baker Botts Hong Kong office. Escobar joined the firm 's London office on February 4, 2008. They will both handle dispute resolution and arbitration matters for clients arising throughout the world.

"The volume and importance of the arbitration matters we are handling created a need to add the legal skills of Alejandro and Steven to our dispute resolution group," said Michael Goldberg, head of the International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution group at Baker Botts. "We are extremely pleased to add such highly-qualified members to our team. Given the growth of our arbitration practice, adding Steven and Alejandro to our group will allow us to continue to provide our clients the best legal counsel in this field."

Lim, who is one of less than 30 international arbitration experts recognized throughout Asia by Chambers Asia, has more than 13 years of experience in arbitration and dispute resolution proceedings. Although previously based in Singapore, Lim has worked throughout Asia and has been recognized as a leader in international arbitration. Chambers Global editors praise him for his "extensive experience of cross-border arbitration." Chambers Asia recently described him as "meticulous, technically-minded and excellent at assessing the merits of a client's position."

"Baker Botts has a global reputation in international arbitration, with a strong practice in Asia-based work," Lim said. "The firm provides solid platform to build on. I look forward to working with my new colleagues in Hong Kong, Beijing and throughout the firm to grow Baker Botts' arbitration practice."

Escobar is a public international law and arbitration specialist. Formerly a senior counsel at ICSID and most recently with Latham & Watkins, Escobar is widely respected for his investment treaty arbitration expertise. In addition to handling more than a dozen of the first investor-State arbitration proceedings ever brought, he has served as an arbitrator in LCIA proceedings and is a Visiting Professor at UCL. Escobar is recognized in leading publications, such as Who' s Who in Commercial Arbitration, Who’s Who in Public International Law, Chambers UK and Chambers Global, where he is described as a "leading light."

"Joining a talented and highly respected arbitration team such as Baker Botts' will allow me to continue to represent clients confronted with complex legal issues," Escobar said. "The firm's global footprint provides an excellent opportunity to continue building my practice."

12 February 2008 (Tuesday) - ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Hong Kong is pleased to announce that May Law, formerly the head of ACCA Hong Kong has embarked on a steering role as the director of China with effect from January 2008.

Ms Law joined ACCA as head of ACCA Hong Kong in 2005. Under her strong leadership, ACCA Hong Kong has achieved sustainable development, increased influence and public awareness in this largest centre outside its headquarter in the UK. She has an extensive background in management and marketing, having held senior positions in leading multinational companies prior to joining ACCA. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from London University and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Communications, from the University of Toronto.

Under the new role, Ms Law is responsible for overseeing the development and strategic direction of ACCA in China and managing offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Ms Law said, "I am honoured and excited to take up this challenge to extend my vision and mission with ACCA to the world 's fastest growing market. China is a market highly valued by ACCA and we have presence in Hong Kong since 1950 and in mainland China since 1988. It is such a special moment for me to take up this new role when ACCA marks its 20 years' presence in mainland China this year. As the world' s largest and fastest growing global professional accountancy body, ACCA will continue our commitment in the development of the accountancy profession. With the enormous opportunities for ACCA to develop in China, I am delighted to lead the team in nurturing and shaping our three-dimensional accountants."