OREANDA-NEWS. November 26, 2012. UC RUSAL (SEHK: 486, Euronext: RUSAL/RUAL, Moscow Exchange: RUALR/RUALRS), the world’s largest aluminium producer, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) hosted the UC RUSAL President's Forum during which Mr. Barry Cheung, Chairman of the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange and Independent Non-Executive Director of UC RUSAL, spoke on “8.5 Billion Global Consumers by 2030: Opportunity or Looming Disaster?” to an enthusiastic audience.

At the Forum and subsequent dialogue with HKUST President Tony F. Chan, Mr. Cheung elaborated on how global consumer trends will be affected by global population growth, with the number of global consumers expected to hit 8.5 billion by 2030. Mr. Barry Cheung said, “2030 is not far away. In the run-up to a new world of 8.5 billion people, the potential opportunities are enormous. Yet the pressures on our resources are ominous. As global citizens, we all have a duty to reduce our personal carbon footprint, and do more with less. But for a challenge this big, Government, Industry and the University must come together in partnership to create a better future for ourselves and our future generations.”

Prof. Tony F. Chan said that it is the mission of HKUST to spearhead socioeconomic development through contributing to frontier research, nurturing top talents and championing entrepreneurship. In response to society’s needs, HKUST has been establishing closer ties with industry with a view to driving local, national and global development. HKUST shares the same vision and is joining hands with UC RUSAL to host the President’s Forum, which offers a unique platform for the world’s business and community leaders and eminent scholars to exchange views on far-reaching issues. Mr. Cheung has enlightened the audience with his in-depth analysis of the vastly changing global consumer market

Mr. Barry Cheung has been on UC RUSAL’s Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director since January 2010. Currently he is a non-official member of Hong Kong’s Executive Council, he is also Chairman of the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, the Urban Renewal Authority, the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service, and Alternate Chairman of the Pay Trend Survey Committee. In addition to the above, Mr. Cheung also sits on a number of government committees as a member of the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service, the Honors Committee, and the Long Term Housing Strategy Steering Committee.

From 1987 to 1994, Mr. Cheung worked at McKinsey and Company in Los Angeles and Hong Kong, during which he advised major financial institutions in the United States and Asia, and was seconded for a year to the Hong Kong Government's Central Policy Unit as a full-time member. He received a Bachelor of Science degree with first-class honors in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Sussex and an MBA from Harvard Business School.