Hong Kong becomes Thailand's 9th largest trading partner

BANGKOK, August 1 (TNA) - Hong Kong has become Thailand's 9th largest trading partner, with total bilateral trade rising to 13 billion US dollars in 2016 alone. Ronnarong Poolpipat, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Trade Negotiations, under the Thai Ministry of Commerce, told journalists of the update on Tuesday. Ronnarong said major Thai exports to Hong Kong include computer sets and accessories, electrical appliances, gems and jewelry, rice and fresh fruits; while Thai imports from Hong Kong include gems and jewelry, gold bars, machines and parts, computer sets and fabrics. In 2016, Ronnarong acknowledged, there were also 32 Hong Kong investment projects approved by the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI), worth about 8.6 billion baht. Besides, there were 750,000 Hong Kong tourist arrivals in Thailand in 2016 when there were about 2,000 Thai workers employed in the business island, most of them worked in the service sector. (TNA)