We have a long history of investing in the well-being of society. This stems from our strong belief in social development as well as an understanding of the many links between the growth of local communities and the long-term success of our business.

Our social initiatives focus mainly on education, social welfare and sports development.

Since 1998, we have provided more than HK$200 million in financial support for various corporate citizenship programmes, including HK$22 million in 2007.

We are a long-term supporter of The Community Chest of Hong Kong, which provides funding for 143 local welfare agencies. Since 1987, we have given about HK$45 million to The Chest to help support those in need. We are a sponsor of the annual Community Chest Dress Special Day and, including staff donations, have raised a total of HK$9.6 million over the past 10 years.

We facilitate charitable giving by our customers through our e-Donation service, which we established in December 2001. By the end of 2007, donations made through this online channel had reached nearly HK$9 million.

Senior management and staff also give through service, volunteering their time to support various charitable organisations and community projects. In 2007, our Staff Volunteer Team logged over 9,600 hours through their participation in a wide range of activities, including tree-planting and hill fire prevention work, mooncake making and hairdressing services for the elderly, museum visits for disadvantaged children, and visiting those at home alone during festival holidays.

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With the aim of promoting positive values among tomorrow's leaders, youth development initiatives remain the foundation of our efforts to help build a better society.

Since 1996, we have allocated more than HK$82 million to scholarship schemes and development programmes, enabling over 1,200 young people from Hong Kong and mainland China, including 160 in 2007, to undertake studies at leading tertiary education institutions.

Through such efforts, we contribute to sustainable development by nurturing talent in a broad range of fields. In 2007, we established 11 scholarships for students pursuing environment-related studies at universities on the Mainland.

Through the Hang Seng Bank Social Entrepreneurship Programme we helped over 300 secondary school students to increase their environmental awareness and develop entrepreneurial skills.

We partnered with the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups for the first time in 2007 to launch the Hang Seng Bank National Education Series. This initiative provides Hong Kong students from low-income families with opportunities to participate in Mainland exchange programmes.

In August, we worked with The Pathways Foundation to organise an 'Inspiration Day' for nearly 100 children with dyslexia or other learning disabilities to encourage them to develop their talents. Over 80 works of art created by some of the children were on display at the event. Other participants gave dramatic and musical performances for the attendees.

We are partnering with Friends of the Earth (Hong Kong) and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to organise the Eco-Explorer Programme, which encourages students to experience nature and learn more about the environment through in-the-field observation and research.

To inspire ethical leadership and promote strong principles among young people, we sponsored the New Leaders Programme, organised by Junior Achievement Hong Kong, for the third consecutive year in 2007. Bank volunteers actively participated in the programme by running workshop sessions and guiding students in ethical decision-making.

Since 1999, we have supported the Ming Pao Student Reporters Programme, which uses journalism training and news reporting activities to enhance civic awareness among secondary school students. By the end of 2007, over 4,600 students had completed the programme.

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Our commitment to sports development reflects a desire to promote good health and a sense of personal achievement as well as the importance of teamwork, fair play and setting goals.

Since 1991, we have helped promising young table tennis players and coaches to hone their talents, donating a total of HK$25 million to training and development programmes. In 2001, we established the Hang Seng Table Tennis Academy, the first organisation of its kind in Hong Kong, which has organised over 2,000 activities to benefit more than 113,000 individuals. In 2007, nearly 12,500 people participated in one or more of over 350 Academy courses and events.

We are also proud to reward Hong Kong athletes who achieve excellence at major national and international games, including the Olympics and Paralympics. Through the Hang Seng Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme, we match the financial incentives given to outstanding athletes by the Hong Kong Sports Institute on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Since 1996, we have awarded over HK$3.2 million to 81 local sporting heroes.

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