Lands Department/HKIS Liaison Group Meeting The working group had its first meeting with Lands Department on 19 January 2010. During the meeting, the following issues were raised: - Revitalization of industrial buildings; and - Review of the application procedures for non-offensive trade modification Formation of Ad Hoc Working Group To streamline the process for appointment of independent valuers and have a more effective and fair appointment procedure, the working group in respect of the subject issues was formed. The terms of reference are as follow:- - To review the current appointment process by the HKIS and to identify the scope of services and the difficulties encountered in the process including but not limited to the terms of engagement and the agreement on fees; - To gather relevant statistics in the process like the number of application, the processing time and the number of successful cases for the years between 2007 and 2009 and to make observations thereof; - To review the promotion materials for the HKIS appointment services (including website and print materials) and the fees related thereof; - To review the documentation within the HKIS relating to the appointment process including the rent review guidance notes; - To report to the GPD Council and to make recommendation (including appointment of expert/ lawyer) on the above on or before 30 June 2010. Should any Member is interested in the above working group, please contact our Honorary Secretary, Mr. Tony Wan, by [email protected]. Election of GPD representatives in respective HKIS Committees/Working Groups In the second meeting of the GPD Council held on 21 January 2010, the following Council Members were elected to the 2009- 2011 HKIS Committees/ Working Groups:- Business and Property Valuation Standards Panel The GPD Council has endorsed the Business and Property Valuation Standards Panel to set up a working group to study the possibility of setting up a report format in preparing valuation reports for retail property or large/high value assessment. The convenor of the working group is Mr. Joseph Ho. Members who are interested in contributing their efforts to the benefit of the Institute are welcome to join the working group by e-mail to Joseph at [email protected].