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The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Everyone was completely caught off guard': FBi Radio's future unclear as station launches emergency fundraising campaign
In February the Sydney community radio station FBi sent out an email to its entire volunteer base, and its few staff members, to attend an emergency meeting at the station that evening. At the meeting, 10 permanent staff – roughly half of FBi's employees – announced that their jobs had been cut, due to the organisation being in extreme financial distress. 'This meeting was very chaotic, they were all crying, talking about how they needed to cut their jobs because most of the money [was] going towards salaries and we couldn't sustain that,' says Bec Cushway, the executive producer of FBi's Walkley-nominated news and current affairs program Backchat. 'Everyone was completely caught off guard by this, no one knew there were any money issues going on.' FBi Radio is regarded by the industry as a cornerstone of the Australian music scene. Based in Redfern since 2003, it has championed some of the country's most successful musicians, from Flume to the Presets, Montaigne and Julia Jacklin. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning The community station has prided itself on broadcasting 50% Australian music – half of that from Sydney – reflecting its roots as an independent and not-for-profit organisation, run largely by passionate volunteers. At the emergency meeting on 19 February, according to Cushway, staff explained that the station would need to 'raise $1m to survive, and $2m to thrive' – ideally by July. While many of his friends and colleagues were departing the station, the former FBi radio presenter Tyson Koh was asked to join the board. By April Koh had been made managing director. 'We would always love to have a million dollars,' Koh says. 'Certainly, if we had a couple million dollars we would thrive, but that was true five, 10, even 20 years ago.' On 17 June, FBi held a town hall to outline its situation to the broader arts and cultural sector. Koh's presentation laid out operating costs – $1m a year – and the breakdown of the existing revenue stream; 47% sponsorship, 41.2% membership and 11.8% philanthropy. FBi's immediate plan is to increase philanthropy and seek government funding, a process that Koh says is under way. Long term, however, FBi wants to return to a place where it can meet its revenue needs through sponsorship and membership alone. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion 'I see the role of benefactors and government support as being ways in which the station can build upon what we already do rather than just keep the lights on,' Koh says. 'I really think it is up to our sponsors and our listeners to keep the station going.' In the short term, Koh says he believes philanthropists and the government could play a role in helping the station to nurture developing musicians and journalists, and grow special programs such as Backchat, FBi's storytelling program All the Best and its nationally syndicated program Race Matters. Cushway says FBi's volunteers should be given some of the reins for fundraising, as many have been expressing their desire to hold events in support of the station. 'I think FBi was founded on a 'move fast break things' kind of mindset and I think that is what we need to remember,' Cushway says. 'I think we're a bit tied up in this consistent messaging and trying to seem like a professional business, which is important, but also I think we've forgotten that people power does make a difference.' An invite-only donor benefit will be held on Thursday 26 June to engage past supporters and volunteers, many of whom have gone on to reach impressive heights in their careers, and hopefully reignite their relationship with the station, Koh says. 'We can't expect people to just turn up and open their wallets,' he says. 'We have a responsibility to tell our story, to let people know what we do and prove our value in Sydney and broader New South Wales.'
RTHK
09-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
HK has 'unique common law role' in Mideast connections
HK has 'unique common law role' in Mideast connections Roden Tong said Hong Kong can act as a springboard for overseas companies that want to do business with mainland firms. File photo: RTHK Law Society president Roden Tong said on Friday Hong Kong can act as a connector between Middle East businesses and the mainland as the SAR is the only common law jurisdiction in China. His comment comes ahead of his visit to Qatar and Kuwait on Saturday as part of a delegation led by Chief Executive John Lee. Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme, Tong said the society will be signing memorandums of understanding with the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration, the Qatar Lawyers Association and the Kuwait Bar Association. He said Hong Kong's role is unique in being the only city in China that has a common law system as well as being the only Chinese and English bilingual common law jurisdiction in the world. Tong also said Hong Kong's legal system is aligned with Qatar and Kuwait in some unique respects. 'In Qatar and Kuwait, they have a mixture of different laws," he said. However, "one thing is very unique: when they do international business, they adopt common law so we are speaking the same language", he said. "So literally, we can actually use these unique advantages to contribute back to our country when they actually do business from overseas to the mainland and also help our mainland counterparts to actually [do business overseas]." Tong said all commercial activities are intertwined with the law and require the support of professional legal services. 'For example, if there is a company in Qatar or Kuwait that wants to do business with the mainland, they come to Hong Kong and collaborate with a Hong Kong enterprise and go into the Greater Bay Area, they literally can apply common law in their contract,' Tong said, referring to the favourable free-trade treatment the city receives under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement with the mainland that can benefit Middle East firms. '[If they are so unfortunate as to have a dispute] then they can even actually apply for Hong Kong as the seat of arbitration." Tong said Hong Kong has the international expertise that can cope as there are nearly 1,700 registered foreign lawyers and more than 80 registered foreign law firms in the city.
RTHK
25-04-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Lee's mainland tech drive 'making HK more synched up'
Lee's mainland tech drive 'making HK more synched up' John Lee's visit to Zhejiang is significant given that it contributes 10 percent of China's GDP and is home to 'Six Little Dragons'. Photo: John Lee's Facebook A Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress said on Friday mainland technology firms can show the world what they have achieved through the SAR. Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme, Nicholas Chan said Chief Executive John Lee's visit to Zhejiang is significant as the province accounts for nearly 10 percent of China's gross domestic product. Chan also believed there will be closer cooperation between the SAR and Zhejiang now that a memorandum of understanding has been signed for 51 projects that cover 13 key areas like smart cities, artificial intelligence, fintech and biotech. He also believed that Hangzhou's "Six Little Dragons" – DeepSeek, Game Science, Unitree Robotics, Deep Robotics, BrainCo and Manycore Tech – can raise funds globally via Hong Kong, citing the SAR's role as a 'super connector' and 'super value-adder'. 'You look at what's happening there in our government plan for the coming year," Chan said. "It is about how we develop technology and industries together in a synchronized way so that you don't have technology that is just built for interest but which no one uses, and industries dying for some technology that doesn't exist. 'We will be more synced up, more joined up, and we'll be able to unleash more power, particularly in these testing geopolitical times,' he added. Chan said Hong Kong is an ideal location for companies to demonstrate robotics technology to the world as countries like the United States have a strong belief in Hong Kong's compliance law. 'And so if we can build this, demonstrate to the world through Hong Kong, then these technologies would have a stronger reach throughout the world and be able to improve lives generally throughout the world,' he said. Speaking on the same programme, artificial intelligence consultant Raj Shroff said Hong Kong, as an international city, is also attractive for high-tech firms, as the companies can attract foreign capital and customers into the SAR, while the city's universities also bring in a lot of talent locally and from around the world. Hong Kong, he said, has laid out a welcome mat for tech firms to operate here and the talent acquisition and sharing would make the SAR a larger technology hub.
RTHK
22-04-2025
- Business
- RTHK
'Industry bracing for de minimis changes'
'Industry bracing for de minimis changes' Stanley Lee said Hong Kong and mainland sellers have long expected the trade war to escalate and have been adjusting to potential changes. File photo: RTHK The vice president of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business said on Tuesday that while he believes the e-commerce industry will be negatively affected by the cancellation of the 'de minimis' trade exemption next month, it doesn't necessarily mean that US consumers will cancel orders all together. Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme, Stanley Lee said the cross-border e-commerce sector -- which has been flourishing for the past decade -- is bracing for impact, as the exemption that allows low-value packages worth less than US$800 to enter the US free of duties, expires on May 2. 'For the end users in the United States, no one will buy everyday items over US$800. So that means all the sellers in Hong Kong and buyers in the US have not had to pay any tariffs over the past ten years,' he said, adding that while some US buyers may no longer purchase from Hong Kong or the mainland, he doesn't expect trade to fall too significantly. 'Is there really going to be no trade anymore? Not really… if the supply chain is still in China, if they [US buyers] don't have a choice, even if you raise the price, they still want to buy [from China], just like during the Covid period when prices were doubled.' Lee added that Hong Kong and mainland sellers have long expected the trade war to escalate and have been adjusting to potential changes. However, he said it is the uncertainty and confusion over US president Donald Trump's ever-changing tariff plans that are making it difficult for traders to manoeuvre.
