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. All award-winning teams in this year’s competition will be invited on an entrepreneurial tour in Malaysia, and the Gold Award team will have the choice of a self-development fund or a two-month internship at HSBC which is intended to help prepare them for the business world.

Launched in Hong Kong in 2000, the geographical footprint of the competition has now expanded from Hong Kong to five other Asian countries. Since its inception, over 6,600 post-secondary students, comprising more than 2,500 teams, have taken part in the Hong Kong competition.

The Hong Kong competition will take place between September 2009 and April 2010. All participating teams will have the chance to attend a series of seminars and workshops to be conducted by well-known trainers and professionals. Topics will include vital skills in the workplace and day-to-day life such as business plan writing, communication skills, presentation skills, creative thinking, interviewing and public speaking techniques.

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 with Gold Award winners from participating countries for the Best of the Best Award in Malaysia in June 2010. The team that wins the regional competition will be awarded an HSBC business development fund of HK$100,000.