Hong Kong, Thailand to join forces as Asian business hubs

HONG KONG, April 28 (TNA) - Hong Kong and Thailand are looking into a proposal on forming a profound strategic economic alliance, the status of which both sides would work together as Asian trade and investment hubs. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who is leading a Thai business delegation for a roadshow in Hong Kong during April 26-29, told journalists on Friday that he raised the proposal at an earlier meeting with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) C. Y. Leung. Somkid, who oversees economic affairs, revealed that under the proposed plan, Thailand would become a trade and investment hub connecting Hong Kong business operators with their counterparts in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), including those in the growing Cambodian, Lao, Myanmar and Vietnamese (CLMV) economies. On the other hand, Somkid said, Hong Kong would become a regional hub for promoting and supporting business operators from China to expand their trade and investment in Thailand and other AEC member countries. Besides, the Thai side proposed that Hong Kong set up a Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Bangkok, after having established two HKETOs in Singapore and Indonesia and considering to open 4-5 more HKETOs in other major areas worldwide. According to the Thai deputy prime minister, a HKETO, if set up in Bangkok, could become a business base that facilitate co-ordinated works between the Hong Kong and the Thai governments, including the appointment of a joint panel to tailor long-term comprehensive trade and investment strategies between Hong Kong and Thailand, under which a variety of goods and business sectors would be covered. (TNA)