HONG KONG: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) said it is looking forward to working closely with Thailand to expand areas of business investment as the Covid-19 pandemic eases and China reopens its borders and lifts travel restrictions.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 16th Asian Financial Forum (AFF), Patrick Lau, deputy executive director of the HKTDC, said both Thailand and Hong Kong can keep boosting areas of investment, business and bilateral trade.
Mr Lau was asked what types of businesses Hong Kong has encouraged its investors to pursue in Thailand as the pandemic wanes and China reopens.
'Such a good friend'
"Thailand is such a good friend. We always have Thai delegates from Thailand attending our [business and investment] events," Mr Lau said.
He said he once visited the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) east of Bangkok and saw how the kingdom has benefited from the boost in trade and manufacturing there.
Developing the EEC is at the heart of the "Thailand 4.0" scheme to upgrade the economy and focus more on high-tech industries.
The EEC is an area-based development initiative that aims to revitalise the Eastern Seaboard where business developers have seen their investments pay dividends for 30 years.
The project initially focused on the three eastern provinces of Rayong, Chon Buri and Chachoengsao.
Its development plan envisages a transformation in terms of both physical and social development while also positioning the EEC as a regulatory sandbox, uplifting the country's competitiveness.
The Thai government has encouraged international investors to pour funds into the EEC project, especially in such areas as electric vehicle manufacturing and smart city development.
"Going for investments from both sides, in particular, I know Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor is looking for more innovation-based development. We previously linked up, for example, our cyber port with Thailand's EEC project, which we can talk more about, and how more technologies matter as well as the smart city [concept]," Mr Lau said.
Mr Lau added that Thailand and Hong Kong can work even more closely in terms of business investment, with Thai companies already forging many deals in the Chinese territory.
"However, [we have] many other areas that we have yet to discuss," he added.
The HKTDC is a statutory organisation responsible for promoting Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. It also has an office in Bangkok.
The organisation works to support the business and investment policies of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Rolling out the mat
The 16th AFF was a two-day annual event that wrapped up on Thursday. It was held by the HKSAR government and the HKTDC this year as an offline event with virtual access also provided.
This year's forum, themed "Accelera- ting Transformation: Impact. Inclusion. Innovation", came on the heels of the resumption of quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and mainland China, and as Hong Kong's business travel gradually returns to normal.
The forum brought together more than 100 international business leaders, policymakers, financial and wealth management experts, entrepreneurs, tech giants and economists, and 19 delegations from the Chinese mainland and overseas to share their insights on global finance and the economy, and explore opportunities. About 20 Thai delegates from financial and start-up sectors also attended the forum.
Mr Lau said the reopening of China's borders and eased travel restrictions were a positive sign, and Hong Kong is ready to show the world that it has fully recovered and what it can offer.
He was also impressed by the large numbers of people who had shown up in person to attend the AFF and the positive sentiments he had seen and heard about the future direction of the economy despite some fears of a looming global recession.
"We are reopening [Hong Kong]. The rebound is very fast. People are very keen to meet face to face," Mr Lau said.
"Hong Kong is a financial hub," he said. "People want to gather here to do business, to do deals and to look at new projects.
"During the pandemic, the difficulty had been that they could not physically meet each other. But the connections and dialogue continued.
"So, for the past couple of years, even though they were held virtually, we did a lot of business matchings," he said.
"The Asian Financial Forum is not just a forum for speakers to come and tell us about their new insights or ideas," he added.
"What's more important is that participants bring their projects and ideas to exchange."
He said the success of the event hinges on its role as a business platform for people and companies to meet prospective partners and investors.
Mr Lau said the HKTDC has been longing for the border with mainland China to reopen for many months, and this should now usher in a new wave of business. "We have already seen a huge amount of interest from people on the mainland," he said.
"About 1,000 people from Guangdong province [alone] have crossed the border to join this trade fair. We think that it is very positive for Hong Kong as we look to the future."
