Dr Victor Fung, a leading Hong Kong businessman and ICC Chairman, says Hong Kong can show the way in challenging times

Dr Victor Fung, the new chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), intends to make the international business body more relevant to today's globalised society.

Dr Fung, who heads the global trading group Li & Fung, is the first Chinese to assume the ICC's top post. 

"The ICC was formed at the end of the First World War as merchants of peace, to use trade and investment as a way of creating prosperity for the world,” said Dr Fung. "I think that basic tenet is still very much valid today, but we need to update it to suit today's environment.”

That means making the ICC more inclusive, distributing economic benefits fairly, and ensuring that growth is environmentally sustainable, according to Dr Fung.

He pointed out that the organisation has become more international in recent years, with more than 130 business members from 57 countries. That, said Dr Fung, underscores the importance of creating a "balanced” ICC. To do this, the ICC has been divided into five geographical locations: Europe, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

Son of Hong Kong

As a "son of Hong Kong,” Dr Fung admitted he will bring with him a Hong Kong perspective. At the same time, he plans to emphasise the importance of organisations like the ICC to Asia, the value of "getting Asian people to participate more in global bodies like it.”

As the ICC has set the standard for global rules of arbitration and other practices, Asia needs to be more involved in creating standards for international trade, according to Dr Fung. "These rules are being set every day, and they will determine the fate of how trade will be conducted on a practical basis. So the message to Asia is: we need to participate a lot more because we have some special needs in Asia. If we don't participate, it's very difficult for people to understand what our needs are and how to incorporate them.”

He said strong multilateral rules are key to the continued success of global trade, the lifeblood of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While the trend of a globalised supply chain creates more opportunities for individual SMEs, they cannot function without multilateral rules, noted Dr Fung. 

"Once you have the rules, you have arguments. That's why the ICC took the lead to create arbitration. The ICC has always been at the forefront globally in setting these rules." As a result, he said, it has become the "gold standard of international arbitration.”

Rising to the challenge

The ICC chairman said he firmly believes that the world is now in the midst of a global recession. But he is confident Hong Kong will once again rise to the challenge. "Hong Kong has always shown its strength in times of crisis. That's when Hong Kong excels, because of our flexibility and adaptability.”

Noting how Hong Kong transformed the Chinese mainland's Pearl River Delta into a manufacturing powerhouse, Dr Fung was confident that Hong Kong can replicate that success. "In this recession, Hong Kong traders will be able to play their part yet again. We will be evolving new models on how to conduct trade on a new global basis from Hong Kong as a base. As we adapt and as the world changes, I have no doubt that Hong Kong will continue to play that role.”

Hong Kong's first ICC Chairman: updating for future prosperity