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SCMP Reporter

SOME members of the Hong Kong branch of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) do not want to give up their British ties too quickly.

Protests have been made after an official notice was circulated through the Law Society of Hong Kong stating the RICS's Hong Kong branch had agreed to be disbanded.

Members say they have not put the issue to the vote.

The controversial Law Society notice went on to say its role would be taken over by its sister body the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS) and urged anyone with dealings with the RICS to shift their contracts to the HKIS.

Although the RICS and the HKIS now share the same executive committees and president in the form of pro-China politician and businessman Leung Chun-ying, their memberships are quite different.

The internationally recognised RICS enjoys a much higher membership than the HKIS, whose ranks are currently made up of predominantly Hong Kong Chinese.

Meanwhile, the RICS, which has a worldwide presence, enjoys a membership of more than 2,000 fully qualified members, with at least another 2,000 student members in the territory.

While RICS professional qualifications are internationally recognised through a worldwide network, those from the HKIS are not.

Although the executive committee of the Hong Kong branch of RICS has been discussing its possible closure for the past nine years, the surveyors are the last of the Hong Kong professional bodies to cut their ties with London ahead of the handover.

Other Hong Kong professional organisations, such as the architects, accountants and barristers, have all completed moves to go it alone.

RICS members say they do appreciate that a new Special Administrative Region government might feel more comfortable liaising with a Hong Kong-based body looking after the territory's interests, rather than one based out of England.

However, they first want to make sure their interests are protected.

'The HKIS does not have established international recognition with other international bodies,' said former Hong Kong RICS committee member Bruce Humphrey, of Bruce Humphrey Consultants.

Nicholas Brooke, senior partner of Brooke Hillier Parker and Hong Kong representative on the RICS general council in London, said the RICS had been approached by the HKIS and provisionally agreed to the disbandment as long as it had members' support and adequate provisions were made.

Mr Leung, who took over as president of both bodies last year, yesterday insisted RICS members had been fully consulted at every stage.

He said an emergency general meeting would be held at which RICS members would be polled. However, this could take several months.

In the meantime, he said there were some more hurdles that had to be crossed first.

Should British links be cut, the HKIS would not get an annual GBP28,000 (about HK$337,988) rebate from London the RICS Hong Kong branch currently enjoys to subsidise its office costs.

Mr Leung is also looking at ways for newly qualified HKIS graduates to obtain duel recognition from the RICS in London once the RICS' Hong Kong branch is disbanded.

Under existing rules, newly qualified HKIS surveyors would have to work in Britain for a year to become a RICS member.

However, a HKIS member flew to London last week and negotiated a two-year transitional waiver for HKIS and RICS students currently undergoing its training schemes during any takeover.



Chartered surveyors split on cutting links with Britain