The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC; ) was founded on 29 May 1861, and is the oldest and one of the largest business organizations in Hong Kong. It has around 4,000 corporate members, who combined employ around one-third of Hong Kong's workforce. It is a self-funding, not-for-profit organization that promotes and represents the interests of the Hong Kong business community. A core function of its work is to formulate recommendations on improving the business environment, which its 23 industry-specific committees constantly analyze and make regular submissions to HKSAR Government officials and policy makers. The Chamber's key services are advocacy, events, networking and business services. It also issues Certificates of Origin, ATA Carnet, and Certificate of Business Identity among other business documentation services via its six branches around Hong Kong. History Foundation The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce was founded on 29 May 1861, just 20 years after the foundation of the Colony of Hong Kong with Alexander Perceval of British owned trading conglomerate Jardine, Matheson & Co as its first chairman. The original membership consisted of 62 companies. At that inaugural meeting, the Chamber's role was stated to be: "... to watch over and protect the general interests of Commerce, to collect information on all matters of interest to the Mercantile Community, and to use every means within its power for the removal of evils, the redress of grievances, and the promotion of the common good; to communicate with authorities and other thereupon; to form a code of practice whereby the transaction of business may be simplified and facilitated; to receive references; and to arbitrate between disputants -- the decisions in such references to be recorded for future guidance."At the Chamber's inauguration the annual subscription fee was HK$100 for firms and HK$50 for individuals. At that time a box at the theatre cost HK$20, chair coolies took C25 to hire, C10 bought one pound of steaks or one dozen eggs. The Chamber's first secretary, J.C. Baldwin, received a salary of HK$125 per month. At the General Meeting held in May 1863 the Chairman, James Macandrew, proposed that specialist groups be established to address subjects affecting various industries. The idea continues to this day in the form of 23 special interest committees within the Chamber. In 1867 the Chamber's Annual General Meeting was open to the press. From that year, Chamber matters were brought into the public domain.