On 20th April, 2020, the Bank of East Asia (China) Limited (“BEA China”) released its 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. The report offers a full account of BEA China’s investment and achievements in fulfilling its corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) during 2019. A wholly-owned, locally-incorporated banking subsidiary of BEA on the mainland, BEA China has stayed true to its original purpose, worked hard to fulfill its corporate social responsibilityand strived to excel in its localised development strategy.
A Productive Decade for the BEA Charity Fund
2019 saw the 10th anniversary of the BEA Charity Fund (the “Fund”), jointly founded by BEA China and the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation. The Fund has aimed to improve the education of disadvantaged children in rural areas on the Chinese mainland.
As of the end of 2019, the Fund had successfully raised approximately RMB 85.72 million. With its three core projects, the Firefly Project, the BEA University Scholarship Programme and the Funding Plan for Non-governmental Organisations, the Fund has established 99 Firefly Centres on the Chinese mainland across 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions within the country, donated more than 53,900 Firefly Backpacks, organised 18 volunteer events and 65 rural teacher training sessions, and provided trainings to over 1,300 teachers in rural areas. The BEA University Scholarship Programme has supported over 170 outstanding university students in need to complete their studies. The Funding Plan for NGOs has provided positive support to 48 outstanding NGO programmes which aid autistic children, children with cerebral palsy, migrant children, couples who have lost their only child, and hospice care.
Focus on Children’s Education, Have a Lasting Impact
The Fund has endeavoured to bring real change to a greater number of lives. In 2019, the Fund launched a programme in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Yunnan Province to enhance sexuality education for children and teenagers. The programme works with children and teenagers whose parents work out of town, providing them with youth health courses, family guidance and themed day events.
BEA China also successfully held the “2019 Bank of East Asia Cup Financial Education School Tour” finals. The tour has been held for seven consecutive years, and over 10,000 students from more than 120 schools in Shanghai participate each year. With increased profile, the event has helped to enhance financial education among youngsters.
The Shanghai & Hong Kong Museum of Banking History, which was established by BEA China at the end of 2018, had already received more than 10,000 visitors by the end of 2019. The Museum is located in the Bank of East Asia Building at No. 299 Sichuan Road Central, Shanghai, which once housed BEA’s Shanghai Branch and was granted heritage architecture status by the Shanghai Municipal Government. The well-preserved marble counter, vaults, and safe deposit boxes on the first ground of the building are highlights of the Museum.
As a customer-oriented and responsible bank, BEA China has constantly fulfilled its corporate social responsibility. Amid the outbreak of Covid-19 in early 2020, BEA China donated RMB 3 million to the Red Cross Society of China Wuhan Branch, in support of the front-line medical workers in the city. At the same time, BEA China has also formulated a number of financial assistance measures to assist the Covid-19 combat. Recently, the Fund has further donated disinfectant, sanitizer and other epidemic prevention materials to rural schools so as to help relieve the shortage of relevant materials. In the future, BEA China will continue to be a responsible corporate citizen by further enhancing its charity culture, expanding its focus of care to areas such as child and teenager assistance, education funding, life care and medical support to help more people in need.
