Thai DPM meets new chief executive of Hong Kong SAR

HONG KONG, April 28 (TNA) - Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has met new Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Carrie Lam to discuss future cooperation between Hong Kong and Thailand. Somkid, who is leading a Thai business delegation for a roadshow in Hong Kong during April 26-29, told journalists on Friday that Thailand was the first country to have a good opportunity to meet the new Hong Kong SAR chief executive, who will officially take her new office over the next two months. During the meeting, Somkid said, he briefed the new Hong Kong SAR chief executive on Thailand's policies during ongoing national reforms in various areas towards the new general election, expected in 2018. The deputy prime minister noted that Thailand wants to attract more Hong Kong business operators to invest in the Thai economy through proposed connectivity mechanisms, including the opening of a Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Bangkok. According to the Thai deputy prime minister, the issues raised during his meeting with the new Hong Kong SAR chief executive would be a source of updated information used by the new Hong Kong top authority for her decision makings after taking her new office. The Thai deputy premier, who oversees economic affairs, acknowledged, meanwhile, that Hong Kong is now not only China's gateway for trade and investment in the Asian region, but also part of Beijing's One Belt One Road Policy in terms of promoting and supporting Chinese business operators to invest in overseas economies considered having strategic significance for China, including Thailand. The Thai deputy premier pointed out that Hong Kong's more flexible business rules and regulations, compared to those in China, have attracted rising business firms from China and the Hong Kong-registered Chinese businesses have become the second largest foreign investors in Thailand over the past years. (TNA)