������Ƶ

A Business Continuity Plan maps out how your organization will keep running during major disruptions like natural disasters, cyberattacks, or public health emergencies. For Hong Kong companies, these plans help meet regulatory requirements from the SFC and HKMA while protecting critical business functions.

The plan identifies your key operations, sets up backup systems, and assigns clear roles for emergency response teams. It includes specific steps for different scenarios, from data recovery to staff relocation, ensuring your business can maintain essential services and meet contractual obligations. Regular testing and updates keep the plan current with evolving business needs and regulatory standards.

Your Business Continuity Plan becomes essential when facing immediate threats like typhoons, IT system failures, or public health crises that could disrupt operations. Hong Kong financial institutions must activate their plans during severe market disruptions, cyber incidents, or when regulatory bodies like the HKMA issue emergency advisories.

Use your plan to guide emergency response teams during office evacuations, coordinate remote work arrangements, or restore critical systems after an outage. It's particularly vital when managing multiple disruptions simultaneously, such as dealing with both infrastructure damage and staff unavailability during extreme weather events. Regular drills help teams stay familiar with these procedures.

• Business Relationship Termination Letter: A specialized form of Business Continuity Plan focused on vendor and partner relationship management during disruptions. These plans detail communication protocols, service transition procedures, and steps to maintain business operations when key partnerships end.
• Operations-focused BCPs: Cover day-to-day business functions, IT systems, and physical facilities with detailed recovery procedures.
• Crisis Management BCPs: Emphasize emergency response, leadership protocols, and stakeholder communications during major incidents.
• Department-specific BCPs: Tailored plans for critical units like finance, compliance, or trading desks in financial institutions.

• Business Leaders and Executives: Responsible for approving and championing the Business Continuity Plan, setting risk tolerance levels, and allocating resources for implementation.
• Risk and Compliance Teams: Draft and maintain the plans, ensure alignment with HKMA and SFC requirements, and coordinate regular testing exercises.
• Department Managers: Provide input on critical functions, implement procedures within their units, and train staff on emergency protocols.
• IT Security Teams: Design and maintain technical recovery procedures, manage data backup systems, and respond to cyber incidents.
• External Consultants: Often assist with plan development, conduct risk assessments, and provide industry best practices guidance.

• Risk Assessment: Map out critical business functions, potential threats, and impact scenarios specific to your Hong Kong operations.
• Resource Inventory: Document key staff, essential equipment, vital records, and critical supplier relationships.
• Recovery Timeframes: Determine acceptable downtime for each business function and set clear recovery objectives.
• Team Structure: Define emergency response roles, contact details, and backup personnel arrangements.
• Compliance Check: Review HKMA and SFC guidelines to ensure your Business Continuity Plan meets regulatory requirements.
• Testing Schedule: Plan regular drills and updates to keep procedures current and staff prepared.

• Risk Assessment Framework: Detailed analysis of business vulnerabilities and threat scenarios as required by HKMA guidelines.
• Recovery Objectives: Clear timeframes and metrics for restoring critical operations post-disruption.
• Emergency Response Structure: Defined roles, responsibilities, and decision-making authority during crises.
• Communication Protocols: Procedures for notifying stakeholders, regulators, and staff during incidents.
• Data Protection Measures: Compliance with PDPO requirements for handling sensitive information during emergencies.
• Testing Requirements: Schedule and methodology for regular plan validation and updates.
• Regulatory Reporting: Procedures for incident notification to relevant Hong Kong authorities.

A Business Continuity Plan differs significantly from an Incident Response Plan in several key aspects, though both are crucial for Hong Kong organizations. While they may seem similar at first glance, understanding their distinct roles helps ensure proper risk management and regulatory compliance.

• Scope and Timeline: Business Continuity Plans cover broad operational resilience and long-term recovery strategies, while Incident Response Plans focus specifically on immediate actions during security incidents or data breaches.
• Regulatory Requirements: BCPs must align with comprehensive HKMA guidelines for operational resilience, whereas IRPs primarily address cybersecurity and data protection obligations.
• Team Structure: BCPs involve multiple departments and leadership levels for sustained business recovery, while IRPs typically engage specialized IT security and crisis response teams.
• Testing Approach: BCPs require regular full-scale drills and scenario testing, whereas IRPs focus on rapid response simulations and technical recovery procedures.