CentreO Blog

Take the opportunity to get involved in the world’s largest collective environmental action to do your part to help address environmental concerns. Do you know that we are over consuming the resources of our planet? If everyone on earth consumed resources at the same rate as Hong Kong, the humanity would need 3.1 Earths to support our demand or resources.

The theme of Earth Hour 2015 is “One Hour for One Bright Future”. Are you ready to make some small changes to create a bright future?

Join at 8:30pm on the 23 March this year, hundreds of millions of people around the world will switch off their lights in support of WWF’s campaign to raise awareness of climate change and help to reduce the world’s carbon footprint. off our lights for one hour on Earth Hour day is a symbolic demonstration of support for this great cause and forces us to consciously think about the amount of energy we use every day.

Earth Hour participants are sending a powerful message and saying “ we want to make a difference to our future!

Few tips to help us:

• Support the cause and switch off your lights on 23 March. 
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: By reducing the amount of paper you print, reusing and recycling as much as possible, you will help conserve energy and reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Keep windows and doors closed when the air-con is on and use the air-con wisely.
• Use environmentally friendly bags at the supermarket.
• Get your coffee in a re-usable cup.
• Switch off lights if they’re not in use.

We are supporting this Worldwide Event by turning off the light in our 2 offices: Sheung Wan and Wan Chai, by small meaningful actions we can change our planet.

CENTRE O BUSINESS CENTRE

Loosing great colleagues and employees is awful and there is barely anything good about the experience.

But no matter how unpleasant experiences may be, we are as always, encouraged to take something positive away from it.

In this particular case, an article on Mashable.com suggested we use this opportunity to ask our soon to be ex-employees some direct question on job satisfaction and company environment. And since they are one foot out the door, we may get the honest answers we are searching for.

1. How did the job match your expectations?

This is not about titles, salary and bonuses, but rather regards the day-to-day work and whether it turned out to be in line with the job description presented at the interview.

Result: precise job descriptions and subsequently better hires.

2. Did you feel that the work you were doing aligned with your personal goals and interests?

Goal-setting is personal, of course. But employees who feel that their jobs are in line or at least not in juxtaposition with their personal goals, will definitely be happier at work.

Result: better understanding on the personalities that the job in question would suit.

3. Did you have the tools and resources you needed to effectively do your job?

Lowering costs is an ever-important process for every business.  However, there is no moving forward without the right systems and equipment in place. So why not learn what you may be missing?

Result: an extensive base of specific resources, that may attract more professionals in the field.

4. Would you recommend this as a great place for a friend to work?

This question can be a genuine request for a recommendation, if you think someone if your ex-employee’s circle could be a good addition to the company.

Alternatively, it can help you find out the selling points of the position for future hires.

Result: a potential new employee and a better knowledge of the benefits that come with the position.

 

Our team would like to say thank you for coming to the event.

It was a record turnout, and we were certainly impressed by the amount of energy and enthusiasm created by all the people in the standing room-only crowd.

We are already in the works to create another event and talking to new guests and new presenters about Business Investment Visa.

For more events like these, please check our Meet Up Page:

http://www.meetup.com/Multi-Network-Business-Community/

Thanks again and hope to see you for the next one!

CENTRE O BUSINESS CENTRE

There has been new policy for US passport applying for China Visa. The U.S. and China have mutually agreed to increase business and tourist visa validity to 10 years.

The agreement, which went into force on March 9th, comes as an increasingly seek Chinese business and investment.

The announcement came during a visit to China by US President Barack Obama. “There were 1.8 million Chinese visitors to the US last year, Obama said, contributing $21 billion to the economy and supporting more than 100,000 jobs”. So, this agreement could help to quadruple those numbers, which will benefit those two economies and bring both people together. While most go to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, they represent a growing and increasingly coveted source of high-spending visitors in destination countries.
For the U.S. government, increasing visa validity is also the key to conserving limited consular resources. In particular, increasing visa validity could decrease the pace at which the U.S. Mission in China needs to hire, train, and deploy officers to adjudicate nonimmigrant visa applications. But the issue was sure to come to a head again due to the apparently inexorable year-on-year increases in outbound Chinese travelers.

For the Chinese government, the agreement helps Chinese companies do business in the increasingly interconnected global economy. Perhaps more importantly, the agreement helps fulfill the desire of the growing Chinese middle class for more convenient international travel.

The new arrangement is tended to be less expensive and considerably more convenient for American  passport holders and business travelers previously having to make annual applications if they visited China or the United States every year. The fee for 10 years tourist entries with normal 4 days process:

– HK$2500/ person

Here’s what the new policy means for U.S. visas issued to Chinese nationals, according to a State Department:

– Validity will increase from 1 to 10 years.

A visa’s validity refers to the period from the date of issuance to expiration. The U.S. issues visas valid for multiple entries but US Passport holder can no longer apply for single/double/ 6 months multiple/ 12 months multiple entries China Visa. There will be no other options even if you are heading into China for 1 visit. The new agreement doesn’t change rules related to the period of authorized stay.

What documents you need to provide:

1) US passport with more than 12 months validity
2) 1 passport photo with white background
3) Landing slip coming into HK (via the custom)
4) For people that are age below 18, we will need a copy of birth certificate with parents names and copy of both parents passports.

Notice:

If your passport expires after a few years, you will have to carry 2 passports when traveling into China.

Please email sales@centreo.hk for further enquiries and support.

CENTRE O BUSINESS CENTRE