Background The Asia Forum was held in various cities in Asia and hosted by the respective member associations since 2004: 1st Asia Forum (2004) – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2nd Asia Forum (2005) – Bangkok, Thailand 3rd Asia Forum (2006) – Singapore 4th Asia Forum (2007) – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 5th Asia Forum (2008) – Guangzhou, mainland China 6th Asia Forum (2009) – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 7th Asia Forum (2010) – Singapore 8th Asia Forum (2011) – Bangkok, Thailand 9th Asia Forum (2012) – Hanoi, Vietnam 10th Asia Forum (2013) – Okinawa, Japan 11th Asia Forum (2014) – Singapore 12th Asia Forum (2015) – Bangkok, Thailand With the support of the Federation and HKTDC Bangkok Office, the 12th Asia Forum was held on July 27, 2015 in Bangkok and was hosted by the Thai-Hong Kong Trade Association (THTA). Networking & Lunch Seminar In total, there were 56 delegates participated in the networking and lunch seminar, including local companies and members/representatives of the business associations from Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. Two prominent speakers from both Hong Kong and Joint Foreign Chamber of Commerce (JFCCT) were invited to share their views on how Hong Kong and ASEAN could work together to forge closer economic partnership. Kerry Express, a Hong Kong company with offices in ASEAN including Thailand, has shared its ASEAN experience and mentioned the possible opportunities in ASEAN from a Hong Kong company’s perspective. JFCCT shared the pros and cons of the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the possible opportunities for SMEs arising from AEC. Many delegates were actively involved in the Q&A session. Most delegates have found the lunch seminar to be very informative and useful. Ms. Dannie Chiu, Regional Director, Southeast Asia and India - Hong Kong Trade Development Council, welcomed all participants the Asia Forum Luncheon Seminar Mr. Alex Ng, Director- Kerry Express, gave a speech on the topic “Opportunities in ASEAN from a Hong Kong company’s perspective”. Mr. Andrew Durieux, Chairman – AEC Committee, Joint Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT), gave a speech on the topic “The ASEAN Economic Community and its Prospects”. The luncheon seminar was well received by over 56 delegates, who engaged actively in numerous business exchanges during the event. Asia Forum – Internal Meeting The session was well received by 20 participants comprising representatives from 6 HKBAs: Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia, and kicked off by an opening remark given by HKTDC’s Regional Director of Southeast Asia and India, Ms Dannie Chiu. With the aid of PowerPoint presentation, each HKBA has presented their introduction and past year’s activities to the fellow participants attending the meeting. All participants were pro-active in asking questions and sharing experiences. The main concern of each HKBA was the recruitment of members and sustainability of the associations. Then, all the heads of the HKBAs agreed to set up a Whatsapp chat group to link everyone up for information and experience sharing. Also, some of the HKBA heads commented that they would like to hear about an introduction from the mainland China and Taiwan HKBAs and they even mentioned that they would like to see if the next Asia Forum could be organised in Guangzhou. Mr Danny Yu, President - Thai Hong Kong Trade Association (left) and Ms. Dannie Chiu, Regional Director, Southeast Asia and India - Hong Kong Trade Development Council (right), spoke on behalf of the host and kicked off the session. Mr. Michael Chiu, Chairman-Hong Kong Business Association Vietnam (HKBAV) Mr. Stanley Mak, Vice President - Hong Kong Business Association (HKBA) Mr. James Budiono, Chairman - Indonesia-Hong Kong Business Association (IDHKBA) Ms. Kimiko Itoh, Director, Japan HK Society, Kansai Chapter Mr. Dixon Chew, President- Hong Kong-Malaysia Business Association (HKMBA) Dinner Reception Hosted by Loxley Public Company Limited A total of 52 delegates have participated in the dinner reception with Thai cultural performance. Riding on the occasion where most Asia’s HKBAs have come to Bangkok, Loxley Public Company Limited has hosted a high-level dinner reception to connect with the representatives and members of the participating HKBAs. Valuable business experience and information were exchanged during the event. All delegates found the dinner reception very useful and memorable. Mr. Nattapon Dejvitak, Senior Vice President of International Trade and Business Development Department, Loxley Public Company Limited (left) & Ms. Dannie Chiu (right) gave a welcoming speech in the dinner. The participants actively engaged in the networking night, and enjoyed the traditional Thai dance performance and Thai buffet arranged by Loxley.