'Trip To Bangkok Clears Misunderstandings Of HK'

Some business leaders accompanying officials to Thailand for the Apec summit said they have cleared misunderstandings people there may have about the city.

Summing up their visit to Bangkok on Monday, business sector lawmaker Jeffrey Lam said he has clarified to the Thai business community that – contrary to their understanding – the SAR no longer requires arrivals to be quarantined.

He also told them that the brain drain in Hong Kong is not as bad as they thought, saying one businessman wrongly believed that over a million talented professionals had left the city.

Lam said Hong Kong remains a place with great potential for Thai businessmen, and some companies are already looking to team up with SAR firms to tap into opportunities in the Greater Bay Area.

Allen Shi, president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, said he looks forward to deepening ties with Thai businesses in the future.

“Business is not [done] only by talking or meeting… we have to do it step by step. So, we need time to understand each other,” he said.

Meanwhile, commerce and economic development chief Algernon Yau said the SAR government will continue to bring in policies to spur foreign investment.

“The Hong Kong SAR government is going to introduce a series of measures and policies to assist with the business settlement in Hong Kong, including land, tax, finance, education [and] visas. We set aside some funding as well for co-investment,” he said.

Supattanapong Punmeechaow, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, also called for more collaboration between the two sides.

"We understand that Covid is a restriction... to engage and to build a relation, but it is now the time to sit down and talk and be open," he said.

"Anything that you cannot fix, or [if] you may have certain concerns... let us know. If the [Thai] government could be a party and go in between all the parties to fix it, we will do it as soon as possible."