“We have over 3,000 large corporate clients around the world from Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China, the US, and Britain. I would say as long as the company is targeting Chinese customers, they need to print the lai see envelopes as corporate gifts,” said Cyrus Cheung, marketing manager of Ecoart Group.

Ecoart is a Hong Kong-based company which is a major printer of lai see envelopes. Its clients include firms such as Sun Hung Kai Properties, China Construction Bank, Coface, Yoho Hall, and the private banking arm of Bank of China, among others.

Cheung estimates the lai see envelope printing business could be worth up to HK$300 million a year. The business has kept growing every year, even as digital lai see has been offered by many banks and payment companies.

“Laisee is not a form of payment but a type of blessing given to children and to your staff,” Cheung said.

Corporate customers order on average 30,000 lai see envelopes at a cost between 40 HK cents to HK$10, depending on quality. The biggest order by a single company was 6 million envelopes, Chueng said.

“The orders for lai see envelopes has kept rising every year while customers want more luxury design and materials. Many banks and companies treat the lai see envelope giveaway as an important annual marketing event. The low-end lai see envelopes are fading out as no company wants such an image,” he said.

Bank of East Asia plans to give away 4.5 million lai see envelopes. The bank was among the earliest of local financial institutions to embrace the practice, starting in the 1960s.

“Today, BEA’s God of Longevity lai see packet is extremely popular with the bank’s customers and is widely regarded as an endearing classic by those who appreciate the timeless appeal of traditional Chinese elements,” a spokesman for BEA said.

As an indicator of its popularity, an online grey market for the decorative envelopes has arisen. HSBC’s envelopes, which are given away free by the bank, have appeared on one e-commerce platform at a cost ranging between HK$10 to HK$170 per box set.

Private banks often choose high quality materials and designs for their red envelopes.

Various design element can also help to convey special meanings. UBS’s flower and bird design symbolises wealth and happiness, while Coface’s fish design is mean to symbolise a surplus. Credit Suisse and Allianz Global Investors both opted for a design that integrates a pig, in accordance with the Year of the Pig. In a modern twist, Franklin Templeton Investments added QR code on its lai see envelopes.

The most common word you may see on an lai see envelope, is “Fook” which means good fortune.

The Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society has spent more than HK$56,000 to print 70,000 lai see envelopes for distribution to its gold traders this year, according to Cherry Lai, corporate communications director of the exchange.

“The laisee envelope is a good marketing tool,” Lai said.

“It is the cheapest corporate gift, as a Christmas card would be about HK$10 each while some diaries are HK$20 each. We have stopped printing Christmas cards for many years and also cut down on the number of printed diaries,” she said.

Credit insurer Coface spent about HK$70,000 this year for its lai see envelope, using high-end pearl paper and a special design.

“We do not mind paying a higher price for printing lai see envelope as it carries our company’s image,” said Patience Chan, regional head of marketing and communications of Asia-Pacific of Coface.

Jenny Yu, head of retail distribution, Greater China & South East Asia at Allianz Global Investors, said the firm has seen consistent demand from customers for its lai see envelopes, which uses a design motif that symbolises profit.

“We see this tradition as being resilient even during the rise of e-payments. Allianz’s red packets are very popular among our clients in Hong Kong particularly,” Yu said.