HONG KONG

The HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards is an annual business plan writing competition for post-secondary students. This programme is designed to provide young people with an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity, enhance their business acumen and acquire a wide range of practical business knowledge and skills.

Launched in Hong Kong in 2000, the geographical footprint of the competition has now expanded from Hong Kong to six other Asian countries. Since its inception, close to 5,700 post-secondary students, comprising more than 2,200 teams, have taken part in the Hong Kong competition.

The Hong Kong competition will take place from September 2008 to April 2009 and is supported by a series of seminars and workshops on creative thinking, interviewing techniques, public speaking, communication skills and etiquette-all vital skills in the workplace and day-to-day life. Participants will have the chance to learn how to write business plans and sharpen their presentation skills.

Teams will compete for Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. Teams selected for Round Two will also be eligible to compete for the Eco-Business Innovation Award if their idea can generate environmental benefits.

The Gold Award winning team will also have an opportunity to represent Hong Kong and compete in the regional competition. The team that wins the regional competition will be awarded an HSBC business development fund of HK$100,000.