HONG KONG MEANS BUSINESS

28 NOVEMBER 2018

MARKET SPOTLIGHT Fintech Start-up Bridges Cash Gap As cross-border online purchases gain momentum, a Hong Kong fintech firm helps SMEs gather enough operating capital to seize opportunities. As demand among global consumers for cross-border online purchases continues to grow exponentially, Qupital – a fintech firm based in Hong Kong which helps businesses raise cash against unpaid invoices – has expanded its services to help local e-commerce merchants and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access financial loans and advances through its trade-finance platform.  More US Trade Latest Developments and Support for SMEs A new webpage brings businesses the latest updates and regulatory alerts related to United States trade. FIRST PERSON Loyalty Dark Box for Many A consultant finds most big firms in the region are in the dark when it comes to retaining customers. INSIDE CHINA Gateway Works Both Ways Hong Kong’s presence at a recent import expo in Shanghai emphasises city’s role in helping the world access the mainland market. HEADS-UP Hong Kong International Stationery Fair The expo offers ample paperwork and craft supplies for office or home, hobby or workplace. VENTURE HONG KONG Patent Rejuvenator Launches at BIPAsia IPHatch encourages start-ups to be creative and use patented technologies to expand their business. LIFE & STYLE Is VR the Future of Spa? W Hong Kong’s immersive experience ushers in a new era for clients. UPCOMING EVENTS 4 Dec Belt and Road Workshop on " Exploring Logistics Business Opportunities with... 5-7 Dec HKTDC Hong Kong International Franchising Show 5-7 Dec HKTDC SmartBiz Expo FIND AN EVENT   MULTIMEDIA SEE THIS HKTDC Hong Kong Optical Fair 2018: Eye on the World HEAR THIS The World’s Socket for Smart Lighting MORE MULTIMEDIA   RESEARCH Latin America: A Good Hedge and A Prospective Client A Blessing in Disguise: A Game Theory Analysis of the US-China Trade Dispute EU Issues Fourth ‘Tax Haven Blacklist’ Update: Hong Kong Still in Process... MORE RESEARCH

AHEPA Happenings | Preparing Thanksgiving Meals

AHEPA Happenings | Preparing Thanksgiving Meals    Ahepans from Palmetto Chapter 284, Columbia, S.C., continued their annual tradition of treating the low-income and disabled residents of their four affordable housing for the elderly properties to a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.  The AHEPA family of West Palm Beach, Fla., in cooperation with St. Catherine's Greek Orthodox Church, opened their doors to feed the homeless and needy in the local area. Roughly 1,000 meals were prepared and either served at the church, delivered to those in need, or picked up by local service organizations such as Quantum House and The Senator Philip D. Lewis Center. AHEPA Attends Discussion with Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine Photo credit: AHI Executive Director Basil Mossaidis attended an intimate discussion with His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine hosted by the American Hellenic Institute (AHI), Nov. 14. The event continued the dialogue between the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and organizations regarding the challenges and burdens facing the churches of the Holy Land. AHEPA hosted a similar roundtable discussion in spring 2018 and has visited the Patriarchate of Jerusalem on several occasions in recent years, most recently inJanuary 2018.   AHEPA Expands in Europe Congratulations to AHEPA's newest chapter chartered in Vienna, Austria! Sixteen men were initiated into the "Nikolaus Dumba"  chapter. Brother Andreas Pappas will be the chapter's first president. Supreme Governor Phanos Pitiris, with the support of Past Supreme President Anthony Kouzounis and Past Supreme Governor Nick Papadopoulos, installed the chapter, Nov. 18. Welcome, Brothers! SOP Manhattan Chapter Reactivated Sons of Pericles New Renaissance Chapter 5, Manhattan, N.Y., was reactivated on Nov. 13. Congratulations to the newest brothers of the Junior Order!  read coverage in The National Herald ICYMI | #GivingTuesday: Support Your Heritage Supreme President Loucas delivers a #GivingTuesday message. Support your heritage by supporting the charitable programs that project and promote our heritage and strengthen our communities. Visit http://ahepa.org/donate Thank you!   Don't forget to follow AHEPA on social media:

Join AHEPA Today! In Our Own Words. What AHEPA means to us. Join AHEPA Now Upcoming Events & Deadlines   December  11 | New Realities in the Eastern Mediterranean - Supreme President George Loucas and Executive Director Basil Mossaidis will speak at an international conference held in Jerusalem 15 | Visit to Saint Basil Academy, Garrison, N.Y. 31 | Membership submission year-end deadline January 4-6 | Epiphany events, Tarpon Springs, Fla. February  1 | Deadline for the spring 2019 issue of The Ahepan Greek American News Digest   Editor's Note: Editorials, Commentaries, and Opinion pieces are shared for information purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the Order of AHEPA, its affiliated organizations, and members.     Greece's creditors approve debt relief package Associated Press (Nov. 22)  A eurozone bailout fund has approved the implementation of a major debt relief plan for Greece that it says would provide the crisis-scarred country significant savings over several decades.  The measures include a complex mix of interest rate improvements and repayment deferrals that were initially agreed upon in June.  read more    Israel, Cyprus, Greece and Italy agree on $7b. East Med gas pipeline to Europe The Times of Israel (Nov. 24)    Greece, Italy, and Cyprus have reached an agreement with Israel to lay a pipeline connecting the Jewish state's gas reserves to the three countries, in a major project estimated at costing over $7 billion that will supply gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, as the continent seeks to diversify its energy supply.  read more     Energy giants Total, Eni seek to expand Cyprus search France24 (Nov. 26)   Energy giants Total and Eni have jointly bid for another licence to explore for and exploit oil and gas reserves off Cyprus despite warnings from Turkey, Cypriot authorities said Monday.  In October, Cyprus invited France's Total, Italy's Eni and ExxonMobil of the United States to bid for the unclaimed block 7 of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).  read more    'The Owl's Legacy' Explores the Glory That Was Greece New York Times (Nov. 23)      Chris Marker's 1989 television series, "The Owl's Legacy," is something for the ages. This 13-episode examination of ancient Greece's contribution to the modern world (streaming on  VHX) is at once illuminating and confounding, heady but playful.  It is also seldom less than entertaining.  read more     One of Greek America's Greatest Untold Stories on DVD: Louis Tikas, Ludlow Massacre The Pappas Post (Nov. 21)   An award-winning documentary film about one of the greatest Greek American stories - largely unknown in America - is now available on DVD.  Palikari: Louis Tikas and the Ludlow Massacre about a Greek immigrant from Crete who was a labor organizer in the early 1900s in Colorado has been released on DVD.  read more    Greek monument at Tatnall was once a 1920s gas station Associated Press (Nov. 23) You could say the Grecian-style monument that's been sitting on the grounds of The Tatnall School in Greenville for the last 54 years is a real gas.  And you wouldn't be wrong.  Though you'd never know by looking at it, the structure was a gas station in downtown Wilmington during the 1920s.  Today, the former roadside attraction is much more than a curious relic of a bygone era. It's extremely rare.  The structure, inspired by the classic Choragic Monument of Lysicrates.  read more