Milestones

1934

Held the CMA founding ceremony with Mr Yip Lan Chuen being chairman of the ceremony on 1 September.

1935

Participated in the “1st Chinese Products Exhibition” in Singapore, which was the first overseas industrial products exhibition the CMA had ever taken part in.

1938

Co-organised an industrial products exhibition at St Paul’s College in Central with the YWCA of Hong Kong on 4 February, which marked the beginning of the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo (HKBPE).

1939

Launched the monthly journal “Manufacturers’ Journal” on 13 August to promote industrial technology advancement and to disseminate news on the CMA.

1951

Organised the biennial “Singapore Industrial Products Exhibition” in Singapore.

1956-1957

Donated $1 million to the Hong Kong Government for the establishment of a Craft College in the Hong Kong Technical College (now the Hong Kong Polytechnic University).

1964

Completed the reconstruction of the CMA Building and set up a showroom in the Building to showcase members’ products.


 

Established the Industrial Scholarship (now the CMA and Donors Scholarship Scheme) to foster industrial manpower training.

1966

Organisd a seminar on Hong Kong industry with the Education Department. The seminar was attended by 1,400 secondary students.

1967

Staged the Silver Jubilee Industrial Products Exhibition (now the Hong Kong Brands & Products Expo). The Hong Kong Government participated for the first time by setting up a grand display centre.


 

Authorised by the Hong Kong Government to issue the Certificate of Origin and Certificate of Processing.

1969

Opened a branch office in Kwun Tong.

1970

Opened a branch office in Mongkok and organised the first “New Product and Display Competition”.

1974

Held a media conference to announce the suspension of the Hong Kong Industrial Products Exhibition (now is the Hong Kong Brands & Products Expo) as the Association failed to find a suitable outdoor venue.

1976

Established the CMA Prevocational School (renamed as the CMA Secondary School in 1997). The opening ceremony of the School was officiated by Lady MacLehose.

1979

Established the CMA Testing and Certification Laboratories in the CMA Building and set up the “CMA Industrial Development Trust” to foster the development of local trades and industries.

1984

Appointed as a functional constituency of the Legislative Council (LegCo). The CMA members have the voting right to elect a representative to sit in the LegCo since then.

Held the opening ceremony for the re-developed CMA Building on 5 March and invited Governor Sir Edward Youde to attend as the Guest-of-Honour.

1985

Established the CMA Choi Cheung Kok Prevocational School (renamed as the CMA Choi Cheung Kok Secondary School in 1997). Chief Secretary Sir David Akers Jones was invited to officiate at the opening ceremony.

1986

The CMA Testing and Certification Laboratories relocated to Fo Tan.

1989

Appointed by the Hong Kong Government to organise the competition on machinery and equipment design of the Governor’s Awards for the Industry (now the Hong Kong Awards for Industries).

1994

Organised the first “Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong’s Trade and Economic Forum” in collaboration with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and Taiwan’s Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.


 

After the Hong Kong Industrial Products Exhibition had been suspended for 20 years, the CMA organised the Hong Kong International Industrial Products Exhibition at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to celebrate its 60th Anniversary.

1998

Organised an industrial products exhibition in Guangzhou. It was the first time the CMA staged an exposition in the Mainland.

1999

Organised the first “Hong Kong Top Brand Awards” to give recognition to outstanding Hong Kong brands.

2001

Set up the “Hong Kong – Mainland Joint Business Liaison Committee” with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries to provide support for Hong Kong enterprises operating in Mainland China.

2002

The “Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong's Trade and Economic Forum” was renamed the “Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau's Trade and Economic Forum” with the addition of the fourth co-organiser Macao Chamber of Commerce.

2003

Donated HK$2 million, together with donations of over HK$1.7 million from its members, to carry out a series of SARS relief works.

2004

The CMA Insurance Agent Limited and the CMA Exhibition Services Limited were established to provide professional insurance intermediary services and exhibition-related services for members.

2005

Established the Hong Kong Brand Development Council, and launched the Hong Kong Top Service Brand Awards to recognise local outstanding service brands.


 

Established the Guangzhou Representative Office to provide local support for members operating in Mainland China.

2006

Established the CMA Secretarial Services Limited to provide one-stop professional and quality secretarial and commercial services to SMEs.

2008

Conducted a survey on the Pearl River Delta Business Outlook for the first time to gain insights into the situation of members operating in the region and their strategies for tackling the challenges.

2009

The 1st Hong Kong Food Carnival was held at Kwai Chung Sports Ground in April. The 12-day exhibition attracted 450,000 visitors in total.


 

The CMA organised a series of activities to celebrate its 75th anniversary. These included a large-scale cocktail reception, a racing cup, a golf tournament, and the publication of a book about the Hong Kong’s industrial development.


 

Launched “Business-School Partnership Programme” to offer secondary school students summer internship positions.

2010

Organised the first “Hong Kong Emerging Brand Awards” and “Hong Kong Emerging Service Brand Awards” to give recognition to new Hong Kong brands which have been established for less than 8 years.

2011

Launched the “Caring for the Community Programme” to fulfill corporate social responsibility.

2012

Organised “Bringing Warmth to Society Variety Show” for the first time to bring love and joy to the community.

2013

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Ya’an County, Sichuan Province, on 20 April 2012. The CMA donated $2 million to support the relief activities.


 

Signed a memorandum of understanding with the Carbon Trust to develop a product carbon footprint and labeling scheme for businesses in Hong Kong.

2014

Staged a series of celebration activities to commemorate CMA’s 80th anniversary.


 

Donated $30 million to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In recognition of this generous support, the PolyU named its CD-wing as the “CMA Building”.


 

A high-level CMA delegation visited Beijing and met with national leaders.


 

CMA jointly held the Job Fair for Rehabilitated Offenders 2014 for persons in custody for the first time with The Correctional Services Department and Merchants Support for Rehabilitated Offenders Committee Limited.

2015

Hong Kong Brand Development Council staged a series of activities under the theme of “Leading the Way, Branding for Excellence” to celebrate its 10th anniversary.


 

CMA brought along a group of 62 tertiary students for an inspection tour in Tianjin. The following year it organised another exchange tour for university students to visit Dalian. 


 

The “Multiple Pathways to Success” programme was launched.  Through a series of activities such as job shadowing, university life experience, and visits, the programme aims to help secondary school students better plan and prepare for the future. 

2016

The 40th General Committee decided to offer a total subsidy of HK$30 million to all local tertiary institutions in support of various educational projects. The donations have benefited 9 institutions, including Lingnan University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, The Open University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, HKU SPACE, the Education University of Hong Kong and Hang Seng Management College. 


 

A delegation of 50 visited Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. This was one of the first trade missions to discover the business potential in the countries along the “Belt and Road” Initiative.


 

CMA for the first time sponsored the Lunar New Year Fireworks Display. It also hosted an unprecedented dinner reception and received 1000 underprivileged. 


 

Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo made its debut in Macau. 

2017

Organised a series of activities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR. 


 

The HKBPE took place in Beijing for the first time ever. It was part of the celebrations for the HKSAR 20th anniversary. 

2018

Rolled out a series of activities to commemorate the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up. A book to review the contributions of Hong Kong’s manufacturing industries to the motherland and Hong Kong in the past 40 years was produced.