Our key contributions to society are the direct economic impact we create as a major employer and taxpayer in Hong Kong, and our role in helping individuals and businesses meet their financial needs as a trusted banking and wealth management partner to over half of Hong Kong's adult population.

These close ties to our community mean we have compelling reasons for contributing to long-term local development and well-being. We use our resources, influence and expertise to give back to the people who help to create our success.

Over the past decade, we have allocated more than HK$217m in donations and community sponsorships - including about HK$25m in 2011 - to a wide range of educational, environmental, social welfare, sports development and arts programmes.

But our involvement doesn't end with financial support. We focus on building strategic partnerships with NGOs to achieve long-term social development goals and encourage our staff to be part of the process as volunteers.

Investing in the Future

In line with our policy of investing today for a bright tomorrow, we have made education and the nurturing of young talent a central element of our community development programmes. In 2011, we reached out to about 60,000 young people through more than 30 Bank-supported education initiatives.

Since 1995, we have provided more than HK$56m under various scholarship schemes, benefitting over 1,700 outstanding students in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Through our continued partnership with the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG), the Hang Seng Bank - Leaders to Leaders Lecture Series offers young leaders of tomorrow the chance to engage in direct dialogue with prominent community leaders of today. Under the theme of 'Modern China - Mapping Out Our New Future' more than 300 students took part in each of the 10 lectures held in 2011.

We also worked with the HKFYG to encourage young people to use the power of broadcast media to promote positive values through the Hang Seng Bank - Chinese Youth Film Contest 2011, which attracted about 1,000 entrants from Hong Kong, the Mainland and Taiwan.

Our long-term support of the Ming Pao Student Reporter Programme has helped about 7,000 students - including about 500 from 200 schools in 2011 - hone their critical thinking and language skills while enhancing their knowledge of current affairs.

We believe in broadening community exposure to the arts, which play an important role in promoting creativity and stimulating social debate. In 2011, we sponsored special shows by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre for more than 2,000 students from low-income families under the Boundless Movement - Hang Seng Bank Student Matinees programme to mark the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution. Since 2007, our support for various student ticket schemes has opened up access to various artistic performances for over 72,000 young people.

In a new initiative, we partnered with the Aide et Action Education Foundation to launch the Hang Seng Bank - Fight Against Women's Illiteracy 2011 project, which to support basic education to about 15,000 illiterate women from rural areas on the Mainland.

In collaboration with The Pathways Foundation, we helped children with specific learning disabilities and attention deficit / hyperactivity disorders to explore their potential and alternative ways of learning through a series of after-school activities and family workshops.

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The Spirit of Service

Our staff are much more than just employees - they are the ambassadors, relationship builders and heart of our business. Underpinned by our keystone principle of service excellence, we encourage a culture of volunteerism through which our passion to serve has moved beyond the workplace to support community betterment.

In 2011, our staff and their families collectively contributed about 25,000 hours in volunteer service - an increase of about 30% compared with the previous year. We facilitated this giving back through service by organising over 100 volunteer activities, including outings and craft workshops for underprivileged children, conservation and environmental programmes, mural painting in a local hospital, and festival lunches and other outreach work among the elderly. We continue to encourage our volunteers to be more involved in the planning and implementation of such activities by becoming volunteer leaders.

In partnership with the Regeneration Society, we promoted the importance of positive life values through the Hang Seng Bank - Regeneration Society Top Ten Regeneration Warriors Programme, through which 10 'Regeneration Warriors' shared their experiences in overcoming chronic illness to live rich and rewarding lives.

Over the past decade, we have donated more than HK$28m to The Community Chest of Hong Kong, which provides funding to 150 charities in Hong Kong serving over 2 million people. Matching staff donations on dollar-for-dollar basis, we raised over HK$1.1m for the Chest's 2011 Dress Casual Day campaign. We also enable easier giving by our customers through our online e-Donation service, which saw HK$2.26m in donations to over 60 charitable organisations in 2011. Close to HK$22m has been given via this channel since its launch in 2001.

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Inspiring Through Sports

Participation in sports helps promote community health and provides valuable lessons about the importance of teamwork, dedication and fair play.

The Hang Seng Table Tennis Academy celebrated 10 years of activity to support talented young players and promote greater participation in the sport. Since its establishment in 2001, over 3,700 activities have been organised for more than 190,000 participants, including 20,000 in 2011. In the past 20 years, we have provided more than HK$31m to fund training and development programmes for table tennis players and coaches.

Hong Kong's top athletes contribute to community pride and provide positive role models for young sporting stars of tomorrow. Since 1996, the Hang Seng Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme, a joint initiative with the Hong Kong Sports Institute, has awarded over HK$26.6m to recognise and reward excellent performances by local sporting heroes. We will continue our support for Hong Kong's athletic achievers at the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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