FBCS membership fees

On April 1st, 2010, the Annual General Meeting of the Finnish Business Council has decided to instate a membership fee for its members. These membership fees are:

RMB 2000 for corporate members,
and RMB 500 for individual members.

The reasons for this decision are many fold. The primary reason, however, is that with the current activity level the operations are non-sustainable without any kind of income to the organization. Another reason is that without the requirement of any kind of commitment, the definition of the FBCS membership has become very vague. Thirdly, both the Board and the Annual General Meeting view this as a preliminary step towards a Chamber of Commerce model of operating, where a membership fee will definitely have to be applied.

Note that the FBCS membership fee and rules are now only synchronized to the same level as the other Finnish Business Councils in China have already applied for many years.

As a part of this process, all members will need to re-apply for membership in order to unambiguously confirm their wish to continue as members. The FBCS membership registration process has three steps. Firstly, you need to fill out a registration form, either on internet or in paper form. The internet registration form can be found on http://www.fbcs.fi/memberinfo.php. Paper versions of the application form will be made available at future FBCS events.

Secondly, the membership fee needs to be paid. The fee can be paid at any FBCS event, or by contacting the FBCS Treasurer, Mrs. Liisa Veijalainen at live01@handelsbanken.se. The Membership fee is to be paid within two months of registration. Please note that as an unregistered organization the FBCS is not able to issue Fa-Piaos for your membership fee. Upon request we, however, will issue a written and stamped statement confirming your payment.

Lastly, the FBCS Board of directors will make a final approval of the membership application. However, please note that you will start enjoying membership benefits immediately after having submitted your application form.

Corporate members need to appoint a principal contact person.  However, any number of employees of a corporate member can be listed on the FBCS mailing list. The number of representatives from each company able to attend a FBCS event - with member-benefits - will be decided on a event by event basis.

We hope the that you will view this change in the operations of FBCS as a positive one, and will consider continuing as our member. In case you have any questions please feel free to contact the secretary of FBCS by replying to this e-mail.

On behalf of the 2010 FBCS board of directors,
Oskar Helling
Secretary of the board

 

FinnBiz Winter '10

The Winter issue of FinnBiz is now out and has been distributed to members of the Business councils in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

You can download a PDF version by clicking the link below.


The second issue of FinnBiz for 2010 is planned for fall. Sponsor-slots for this issue is still available. These will be allocated on a first come - first served basis. If you are interested in reaching the decionmakers of the Finnish Business community in China, please contact oskar@startupshanghai.com