HK-Thailand cooperation to flourish: CE
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said Hong Kong and Thailand would enjoy many opportunities for cooperation amid the backdrop of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
She also revealed that Hong Kong is aiming to become a “Silicon Valley plus Wall Street” in the Bay Area.
Lam made the remarks while doing a one-on-one interview in Bangkok on Thursday after attending the inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok.
She explained that Hong Kong, as one of 11 cities in the Bay Area, would offer easy access for Thailand to enter the Chinese mainland market in fields including health technology and biotechnology.
The central government released the outline development plan for the Bay Area on Feb 18. It envisages an 11-city cluster developing into a worldclass technology and innovation hub.
“You can imagine this is a very good market and a very good place to start with bringing Thai businesses and technology to this area, and with that base to go beyond the Bay Area into the Chinese mainland market,” Lam said.
The CE also said Hong Kong could offer Thailand something vital for expanding businesses — financial services. The raising of capital, management of risks, insurance and reinsurance are things the SAR is good at. The city is the world’s third most attractive international financial center, Lam added.
Thailand was Hong Kong’s No 8 trading partner in 2017 — with total trade volume exceeding HK$143.8 billion. It ranks third in the 10 ASEAN member countries in terms of trade volume with Hong Kong in 2017.
To realize the goal of developing Hong Kong into a “Silicon Valley plus Wall Street” along with advancement of the Bay Area, Lam said the key was to combine the city’s research abilities with its financial capabilities.
In her vision, Hong Kong, which boasts strong basic research capacity, will put equal emphasis on turning research outcomes into daily applications. Such applications could be manufactured in neighboring Bay Area cities which excel at advanced manufacturing, such as Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan.
If enterprises become successful with manufacturing and need capital to grow their business, Hong Kong is the place they should go — either to get listed on the city’s stock market to raise capital, or reaching larger foreign markets through Hong Kong’s international ties, Lam said.
In closing the interview, the CE admitted that 2019 would be a challenging year. She said her government would diversify the city’s economy, while also building up its markets instead of just relying on the mainland market.
“ASEAN is a priority for growing our market,” Lam stressed.
The Bangkok office is the third Economic and Trade Office established by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the ASEAN region after Singapore and Jakarta.
Lam was speaking on camera with Bangkok-based veteran journalist Suthichai Yoon.
Lam agreed with Yoon’s observation that both Hong Kong and Thailand play the role of being a gateway — Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland and Thailand to ASEAN.
If the two gateway economies, now in a strategic partnership, join hands and work together, Lam said the impact would go beyond the two economies and could contribute to the Belt and Road Initiative.