Thai businesses are being urged to take advantage of privileges offered under the Asean-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) to expand trade and investment in Hong Kong, especially for restaurants, content creation and construction.
Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said on Thursday at a seminar on "Hong Kong: The Major Gateway for Business to China" that with the AHKFTA scheduled to come into force by the second quarter this year, Thai entrepreneurs should prepare to tap into the pact's privileges to ramp up their trade and investment in Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong is developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area [GBA], which should offer opportunities for Thai businesses," she said.
The GBA is the Chinese government's scheme to link nine cities in the coastal province of Guangdong -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing -- with Hong Kong and Macau to establish a new business hub.
AHKFTA will be the 13th FTA Thailand has established. The pact will become effective once at least four members ratify it.
Thailand and Singapore have already ratified the agreement, with Vietnam and the Philippines considering passage.
Under the pact, Hong Kong is committed to opening 77 services to allow Asean investors to take 100% ownership out of a total of 155 sectors, while Thailand will open 74 service sectors, said Mrs Auramon.
Some of the sectors to be liberalised include construction, distribution, environmental service, telecommunications, financial services and engineering.
Banjongjitt Angsusingh, director-general of International Trade Promotion Department, said Hong Kong is an interesting market because there are around 10,000 people who have assets of at least 1 billion baht.
The consumption and lifestyle of the area's residents is similar to those in developed countries, she said.
"Thailand and Hong Kong could be gateways to other countries for each other," said Mrs Banjongjitt.
"Thai restaurants, in particular, will be an effective channel to expand Thai export goods to Hong Kong and China."
The department operates two trade offices in Hong Kong and five offices in China to provide assistance to Thai entrepreneurs.
Kanit Si, senior executive vice-president of Bangkok Bank, said Thai businesses should take advantage of trade and investment opportunities from the Belt and Road initiative to expand trade and investment.
He said China has developed its distribution network since 2014, linking Chengdu with Eastern Europe, including Belarus, Poland, Russia, as well as Britain, cutting the journey to one week from two months by ship.
Chengdu is a manufacturing hub for China, producing iPhones among other products, said Mr Kanit.
According to the Commerce Ministry, two-way trade between Thailand and Hong Kong was valued at US$15.47 billion (488 billion baht) in 2018, with exports from Thailand amounting to $12.5 billion and imports from Hong Kong worth $2.9 billion.
The Board of Investment reported Hong Kong applications totalled 44 projects worth 20.3 billion baht in 2018.