Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Markham (CCCM) is the business division of the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham (FCCM).

Business Objective Operating out of the Markham Chinese Cultural Centre located at the second floor of Market Village, the main objectives of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Markham are the following:

• To establish and operate a business association for the purposes of promoting fellowship among people in the Town of Markham
• To promote and encourage effective and ethical business practices
• To develop and foster the business community spirit
• To communicate and cooperate with other business associations and organizations within and outside Ontario
• To serve as a voice on matters of concern to the Chinese Canadian Business Community
• To bring together and unite Chinese Canadian business people of diverse background in Markham and the whole of York Region

Business Activities of CCCM

For 1998, CCCM has conducted monthly networking luncheon meetings at Century Palace Restaurant, Metro Square, Don Valley North Lexus Toyota, and Markham Chinese Cultural Centre. On May 5th, 1999, CCCM, along with Mayor Don Cousens, Regional Councillor Tony Wong and Councillor Alex Chiu from the Town of Markham, led a trade delegation to Hong Kong, Huadu City (Guandong), Shanghai & Beijing.

New Beginning

In 1993 and 1994, Dr. Ken Ng and Eric Viola published the "Asian-Canadian Business Directory". That was their way of expressing their fervent desire to promote exchanges and interaction between business groups and individuals in the diverse Asian-Canadian communities. It was their strong conviction that business networking should blossom and expand outside the boundaries of the different ethnic business groups, i.e., Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Philippine, Indian, Pakistan, etc.

In 2001, with the backing and support of FCCM, they decided to establish another business group with the intention of including business people and professionals from other Asian groups and communities. They contacted their close friends from these other groups and had several fruitful meetings together. As a result of these brainstorming sessions, the "Asian-Canadian Entrepreneurs & Professionals (ACEP)" was born and incorporated. On October 26,2001, ACEP was formally presented to the public & media and officially launched during a luncheon party held at the Century Palace Restaurant.

Above: Acep Directors

Dr. Ng's and Mr. Viola's vision together of a multicultural business effort finally graduated from a modest publication to a formal multi-ethnic business and professional organization. The founding Directors are as follows:

President
Rafael Nebres
Past President, Philippine
Chamber of Commerce-Toronto
VP, Canada-Philippines
Business Council
General Manager, ACTION HONDA

VP, Membership and Educational Programs
Susan Yao-Arkilander, CFP
Financial Adviser, CIBC Imperial Services

VP, Government & Trade Relations
Monina Lim-Serrano
President, Federation of Filipino Canadians

VP, Public Relations & Special Projects
Ace Alvarez
Managing Director, Russell International
Managing Editor, Manila Media Monitor
Producer, Front Page Philippines TV

Corporate Secretary
Alice Cheung
IT Planning Manager, Bank of Montreal
Past President, Canadian Information Processing Society

Corporate Treasurer
Eduardo G. Ong, BS Comm.
Consultant, De Thomas Financial