With the new Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok, economic cooperation between Thailand and Hong Kong is expected to deepen for trade and investment in high technology.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said yesterday the office, which opens today, will facilitate the trade and investment between the two entities.
"Thailand aims to use Hong Kong as a gateway to the Greater Bay Area [GBA], while Hong Kong will use Thailand as a gateway to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam," said Mr Somkid. "The GBA is a significant portion of China's Belt and Road Initiative."
He said Thailand expects more investment from the GBA, especially in the government's flagship Eastern Economic Corridor.
The GBA refers to the Chinese government's scheme to link the cities of Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing into an integrated hub.
A seminar is scheduled for today's event, with over 1,000 participants registered and Mr Somkid and Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, expected to deliver keynote speeches.
Four memorandums of understanding are scheduled to be signed tomorrow: one on investment cooperation between the Board of Investment (BoI) and Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC); another between InnoSpace Thailand and HKTDC to develop startups; another between InnoSpace and Ho & Partners Architects, Engineers & Development Consultants of Hong Kong; and the last between InnoSpace and Hong Kong Cyberport Management Co.
A BoI report put Hong Kong investment applications at 44 projects worth 20.3 billion baht in 2018, up from 41 projects worth 7.15 billion in 2017.
InnoSpace was set up in January 2019 with an initial budget of 500 million baht to connect local startups with fresh capital funds.