Merrill Lynch Receives Hong Kong Caring Company Award

Published: February 2009

Merrill Lynch won the right to use the Caring Company logo by the Hong Kong Council of Social Services, an umbrella organization of over 350 social organizations, after it was nominated twice by community groups.

The award acknowledges the Firm's commitment to volunteering, fundraising initiatives, sharing professional advice with the community, adopting green management, ensuring an employee-friendly working environment, and providing training and employment opportunities for the disadvantaged.

"As an employer of choice, we have strived to implement a strong sense of social responsibility and support for the communities in which our clients and employees live and work. I am pleased that our efforts have been recognized with this award." Jennifer Taylor, COO for the Asia-Pacific Region said.

The Caring Company Recognition Ceremony 2008/09 was held on February 10 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year, Merrill Lynch was nominated by two organizations - the Hong Chi Association and the Po Leung Kuk. This is the fourth consecutive year that Merrill Lynch has been recognized for its community efforts in Hong Kong.

Merrill Lynch encouraged employees to participate in a wide range of volunteer activities. During the judging period, 257 Hong Kong staff performed 1,099 hours of social service in eight voluntary activities, benefiting hundreds of children from low-income families, youngsters, and seniors living in homes for the elderly.

Hong Kong employees and their families and friends also showed their generosity by raising more than HK$3 million last year for the Firms charity initiatives, including the Merrill Lynch Operation Santa Claus Campaign, the ORBIS Walk for Sight, MTR Race Walking, and the Po Leung Kuk Language Learning Center Project.

Merrill Lynch, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club and the Po Leung Kuk (PLK), have raised funds to establish the PLK Merrill Lynch Children's Language Learning Centre, which will open in the New Territories in the coming months. The PLK, one of the city's oldest and most prestigious charity organizations, runs more than 200 units in Hong Kong providing welfare, educational, cultural and recreational services for underprivileged children.

Around 50 Hong Kong employees have given up their Saturday mornings over the past year to facilitate a language reading club at the PLKs Hung Hom kindergarten, to trigger children's interest in learning English and Mandarin, as well as boosting the youngsters' self-confidence.

Merrill Lynch has been a strong long-term supporter of the Hong Chi Association, through its purchases of cookies made by the group. These are much enjoyed by clients and staff at our Global Wealth Management offices and also in the client centre in Citibank Tower. Hong Chi was set up four decades ago to provide much-needed education and support for those with developmental disabilities.

In line with its policies on equal employment opportunity and employing the disabled, Merrill Lynch last year hosted Hong Kong's first Disability Fair, organized by a well known local NGO - Community Business - attracting more than 200 local businesses, representatives from key NGOs, universities and government departments.

Engaging in a wide scope of community programs, Hong Kong staff members have also actively shared their business expertise and skills with children and youngsters from various schools during the year. For example, in October the Young Professional Network invited pre-college age students in Hong Kong's underserved communities to Merrill Lynch's Hong Kong office and taught them some practical financial knowledge and valuable life skills.

Merrill was represented at the Caring Company Recognition Ceremony 2008/09 by Helen Chan and Tiffany Chen of Marketing and Communications, who received the award from Bernard Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. A total of 1,765 companies and organizations received the Caring Company Logo and Caring Organization Logo respectively this year.