2008 PRESIDENT'S REPORT TO THE AGM

Welcome

Welcome to the President's Report for 2008. It has been an eventful year with more events than the Chamber has ever had in any previous year, as well as some changes to our membership criteria.

Changes to membership criteria and fees

The Committee is aware that there are many Finnish companies and their subsidiaries doing business in Australia without necessarily having an office in Sydney. To allow these Finnish companies to become part of FACC without having to pay for events which they are unlikely to attend due to distance, the Committee of the Chamber recently resolved to make changes to the existing membership structure.

The changes became effective on 1 July 2008 and are as follows:

• New membership year - The membership year now runs from 1 January to 31 December each year. This means that members as at 30 June 2008 had their membership extended to 31 December 2008. Members joining or renewing after 30 June 2008 get extended membership to 31 December 2009.
• New associate membership - In recognition of the different requirements of members outside metropolitan Sydney, a new associate category of membership has been introduced. It is available to interstate/remote members (members located more than 200km from Sydney). The membership rates are significantly discounted, namely $80 (large corporates), $50 (small corporates) and $25 (individuals).

FACC activities during 2007/2008

The members enjoyed a few drinks and networking opportunities in the informal setting of the Arthouse Hotel in April, June and September 2008.

In March 2008 the Chamber members were invited to a cocktail reception at the Consulate of Finland hosted by the Consul, Ms Pirjo Leino, to welcome a delegation from the Finnish Tourist Board in Helsinki.

In May 2008 the Chamber held its inaugural "at home" function which was kindly josted by the FACC member Stora Enso Australia Pty Ltd at its corporate headquarters in North Sydney. In the presence of the Finnish Ambassador Glen Lindholm and the Consul Pirjo Leino FACC members enjoyed the hospitality of Stora Enso, including a great variety of food and a presentation about Stora Enso's business operations as producer of forest material such as paper and packaging.

This was followed in August 2008 by the Chamber's second "at home" function in the form of a lunch hosted by Nokia, one of the founding members and current sponsor of the Chamber, at its Australian headquarters in Pyrmont, Sydney. About 20 FACC members and guests, including representatives of the Embassy and the Consulate of Finland, as well as representatives of our Nordic neighbours from the Swedish Trade Council and the Trade Commission of Denmark, enjoyed a scrumptious buffet lunch.

In the course of a business trip in Northern Europe I visited in October 2008 Finpro, the Finnish international investment agency, in Helsinki. The aim of the visit was to foster the exchange of information and co-operation between FACC and Finpro in the future for the benefit of Finnish companies doing business in Australia, including FACC members.

FACC activities planned for the remainder of 2008 and 2009

On 26 November 2008 the Chamber will participate for the second time in the annual "Cruise with the Europeans". This event is hosted on the MV Sydney 2000 and will allow FACC members to enjoy a 2 hour harbour cruise which offers not only good food and great views, but also unique networking opportunities with members of a total of 9 European Chambers and trade representations! For the first time this year the cruise will be followed by an after-party which starts after the ship has docked at the end of the cruise.

Other events which are planned for the coming year include further "at home" functions at the premises of some of our members, our traditional drinks' night at the Arthouse Hotel and we are considering co-hosting another event with the other Nordic trade representations following the success of the Nordic Business Seminar in 2006. We are currently in the process of confirming the details for the events in 2009 and a calendar of events will be distributed to members as soon as the details have been finalised.

Participation by Members

While the Committee members meet monthly to organise events throughout the year, it is the members of the Chamber who really represent what the Chamber is today and into the future. Without its members the Chamber would not exist.

We therefore seek your continuous involvement through your attendance at events, comments, suggestions for future events and nominations for the Chamber's Committee. In this regard We warmly welcome Lesley Doig, Managing Director of Ahlstrom Australia Pty Ltd who joins the Committee for the first time from today's AGM.

Your feedback and suggestions are appreciated and always welcome! The Committee members are only one email away.

Silke Koernicke
President FACC
Sydney, October 2008