Work with Hong Kong to reap benefits of China’s Greater Bay Area scheme, city’s leader Carrie Lam urges Southeast Asian nations

By working with Hong Kong, Southeast Asia stands to gain from the “Greater Bay Area” plan, the city’s leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said at a Bangkok trade forum on Thursday.

Thai companies, especially, could take advantage of the myriad links between Hong Kong and mainland China to expand into new markets, the chief executive said.

“With our clear strengths, we are well positioned to partner with Thai companies, whether on Belt and Road projects or in helping Thai companies access the China market or in creating connections with other economies, in Asia and around the world,” said Lam, who was on a two-day visit to Thailand.

The Greater Bay Area blueprint, announced two weeks ago, will link Hong Kong and Macau with nine other southern Chinese cities to create an economic powerhouse. The Belt and Road Initiative is a China-centred strategy to grow global trade.

At the same forum, Thailand’s deputy prime minister Somkid Jatusripitak said high-speed rail links between China and Southeast Asia’s CLMVT (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand) would bring the two regions closer.

“During many decades, the Pearl River Delta region has been China’s engine of growth but with the announcement of the development plan, the growth opportunities will be even more immense,” Somkid said.

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He said the high-speed rail links would contribute to the success of the Belt and Road and the economic cooperation and linkage with Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

Lam also singled out the EEC, which has significant Chinese investment, for opportunities for greater cooperation between Hong Kong and Thailand.

Despite the global economic headwinds brought on by rising protectionism, these new areas of growth ought to be exploited, she said.

“Despite protectionism, trade conflicts and regional instability continuing to disrupt the global economy, I remain optimistic and very confident that our collaboration with Asean, and with Thailand in trade, investment and other aspects, will continue to expand,” Lam said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The combined gross domestic product of the Greater Bay Area’s 11 cities is US$1.5 trillion, about the size of the combined GDP of Thailand and Indonesia, two of Asean’s largest economies.

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Four cooperation agreements were signed during the Thursday morning forum including on enhancement of the partnership between the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Thailand’s Board of Investment.

During her visit, Lam also met with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha at Government House and opened an art exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. She then attended the opening of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, the third in Asean after Jakarta and Singapore.

Thailand is hoping the office will help to increase trade between the country and Hong Kong, allowing it to use the city as a link to the Greater Bay Area to establish a new business hub.

Last year, bilateral trade volume between Hong Kong and Thailand rose to US$19.6 billion – an increase of 6.3 per cent from 2017. Thailand is Hong Kong’s third-largest commodity trading partner among Asean members.

Work is ongoing to conclude the Asean-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement, with only two of the organisation’s countries still to sign it. Once in force sometime in the middle of this year, trade value between Thailand and Hong Kong was expected to rise to US$20 billion in 2019.