Hong Kong and Thailand Seal Green Alliance at GreenBiz HK Forum in Bangkok, Unlocking New Era of Sustainable Growth

 

 

Over 550 business leaders gathered in Bangkok as Hong Kong unveiled green finance tools, smart city expertise and carbon solutions to accelerate Thailand's sustainability ambitions.

 

 

More than 550 government officials and business leaders convened at the Grande Centre Point Lumphini Hotel on 18 March for the GreenBiz HK Forum, the flagship event of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's (HKTDC) GreenBiz HK campaign in Bangkok. 

 

The gathering marked a significant step in deepening bilateral collaboration across green finance, smart city development, sustainable technology, and carbon markets — with Hong Kong positioning itself not merely as a gateway but as an active architect of Asia's green transition.

 

Complementing the forum, the GreenBiz HK campaign also featured a four-day Hong Kong Green Team delegation  from 17 to 20 March, comprising 18 specialists from Hong Kong spanning architecture, engineering, green building, ESG advisory, green technology, and smart city solutions.

 

 

 

Hong Kong: Asia's Green Finance Powerhouse

In opening proceedings, Anna Cheung, Assistant Executive Director of the HKTDC, set the tone with a striking set of statistics underscoring Hong Kong's dominance in regional green finance.

 

In 2024 alone, approximately US$43 billion in green bonds were arranged in Hong Kong — representing 45 per cent of the Asian regional total, a position the city has held for seven consecutive years.

 

The city's green technology start-up ecosystem has also surged, with the number of start-ups doubling from 130 in 2022 to 265 by 2025.
 

 

 

 

"Hong Kong serves as a gateway to Asia's green transition, offering Thailand businesses a platform to innovate and grow sustainably across the region and beyond," Cheung said, noting that the GreenBiz HK campaign was designed to translate this financial firepower into concrete on-the-ground partnerships with Thai enterprises.
 

 

 

 

"Green Is the New Gold"

Dr Chadchart Sittipunt, Governor of Bangkok and Guest of Honour of the Forum, delivered a keynote that reframed sustainability as an economic imperative rather than a corporate obligation. 

 

"Green is the new gold. It's not the burden or the cost; it's the future building that will create opportunities," he told audiences.

 

The Governor cited shifting consumer behaviour as a key driver, noting that 75 per cent of Gen Z consumers prefer sustainable products and are willing to pay a premium of nearly 10 per cent for them. 

 

He outlined Bangkok's seven-pillar strategy to become a model Green City — encompassing quality of life, transparency, regulation, efficiency, talent attraction, innovation, and branding — and highlighted tangible results already achieved: over two million trees planted, 440 new parks created, expanded urban cycling and walking infrastructure, and new waste separation and recycling projects reducing dependence on landfill.
 

 

 

 

Hong Kong as "Super Value-Adder": Dr Lo Wai-kwok's Blueprint

In an exclusive interview at the forum, Dr Lo Wai-kwok, Chairman of the HKTDC Infrastructure Development Advisory Committee and co-mission leader of the Hong Kong Green Team delegation, articulated a clear evolution in Hong Kong's strategic role. 

 

 

"Hong Kong has always been a super connector," he said, "but we are now moving firmly into the role of super value-adder — bringing not just capital and networks, but deep technical expertise, rigorous certification, and proven innovation to the table."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Lo highlighted the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA), where he serves as Honorary Chairman, as a critical instrument in combating greenwashing. 

 

The HKQAA operates a Green Finance Certification Scheme — the first of its kind globally — which Dr Lo described as the "truth-teller" of green capital markets. 

 

"You may claim your bond to be green, but who knows? You just claim it by yourself," he explained. "If a product has been certified by HKQAA under a very stringent and proper scheme, the market will have much more confidence. Certification is not just a label — it moves beyond dialogue to actual capital flow."

 

On the question of cost, Dr Lo offered a pragmatic perspective tailored to Thai SMEs, which often view ESG compliance as a financial strain. 

 

"For SMEs, the best way to start ESG is by focusing on efficiency," he advised. "Improving energy use, reducing material waste, strengthening workplace safety — these, if done correctly, can in fact lower operating costs." 

 

 

 

 

 

He encouraged Thai businesses to make use of ready-made tools and the expertise brought by the Hong Kong delegation rather than building systems from scratch.

 

Looking to the near future, Dr Lo identified smart city development and waste-to-energy technology as the most promising areas for bilateral collaboration.

 

He pointed to Hong Kong's Northern Metropolis project as a live testing ground for next-generation green infrastructure and flagged major advances in wind and solar R&D from Chinese Mainland as a shared regional resource. 

 

"We are seeing real things happening and partnerships being built," he concluded. "BCG and green initiatives are not just lip service — they are the pathway for the future of the enterprise."

 

 

 

 

 

Carbon Credits: Incentive, Not Tax — John Lo's Vision for Thailand

In a separate exclusive interview, John Lo, Founder of the Asia Carbon Institute (ACI), made a forceful case for Thailand to position itself at the centre of Asia's voluntary carbon market. 

 

"Carbon credit is not a form of tax; carbon credit is incentivising people," he said plainly — a distinction he argued is poorly understood but commercially vital.

 

Lo identified three areas where Thailand holds distinctive competitive advantages: the government's own Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic model, clean manufacturing (particularly in carbon-intensive sectors such as oil refining and petrochemicals), and nature-based solutions. 

 

Thailand's extensive coastline, he noted, is especially well-suited for "blue carbon" projects — mangrove restoration and maritime decarbonisation initiatives that can generate carbon credits for export to carbon-constrained markets such as Singapore.

 

Addressing persistent concerns about greenwashing that have undermined confidence in global carbon markets, Lo advocated for what he called an "In Asia, For Asia" model of project development. 

 

He argued that much of the reputational damage suffered by carbon credits stems from projects located in remote, inaccessible regions. 

 

"If we are focusing on projects that our buyers can access, they can go and see the project themselves. They can interrogate it — which makes the credibility issues disappear." 

 

 

The ACI is reinforcing this transparency with technology, deploying IoT sensors, satellite imagery, and AI-driven data analysis to monitor carbon projects and detect any leakage or data irregularities.

 

For Thai businesses, Lo's prescription was direct: start measuring Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions now, with audit-ready data, and begin factoring an internal carbon price into all long-term investment decisions. 

 

"Carbon emission reporting and financing are not going away — it is here today," he warned. "By building internal capability now, you develop the muscle rather than relying on short-term, stop-gap measures." 
 

 

He noted that the ACI has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) to democratise carbon measurement methodologies as part of a broader Pan-Asian alliance spanning Singapore and South Korea.

 

 

 

 

Forum Sessions and Business Matching

The day's programme featured a business plenary on Hong Kong-Thailand partnerships for sustainability and innovation, moderated by Chaoni Huang, Executive Vice President of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association, which explored how Thai companies can leverage Hong Kong's green finance infrastructure. 

 

Panellists included representatives from CP Group, Bank of China (Hong Kong) — which has already extended an US$80 million sustainability-linked loan to a Thai energy corporate — ATAL Engineering Group, and the Asia Carbon Institute.

 

Two concurrent breakout sessions explored green technology and integrated design, and green building standards and supply chain, with speakers from ASTRI, Henderson Land, Arup, and the Hong Kong Green Building Council, alongside Thailand's National Innovation Agency.

 

The forum concluded with targeted one-on-one business matching sessions, designed to convert dialogue into signed agreements.

 

 

 

Looking Ahead

The GreenBiz HK campaign in Bangkok is one of the key events under the Economic and Trade Express (ETE), a functional platform designed to help Hong Kong SMEs and start-ups explore business opportunities in overseas markets, while bringing in more enterprises to invest in and establish businesses in Hong Kong.  

 

The campaign’s networking luncheon was supported by Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok (HKETO). Parson Lam, the Director of HKETO, noted that Hong Kong’s strong expertise in green building standards, energy management and professional services positions it well to support Thai partners in their sustainable development journey.

 

He emphasised that the collaboration is mutually beneficial. Thailand has developed an impressive array of green technologies and solutions over the years, while the Hong Kong SAR Government has been actively supporting Thai enterprises in expanding into Hong Kong and beyond, bringing these innovations to new markets.

 

Against this backdrop of deepening bilateral exchange, delegation meetings held across Bangkok and Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor with organisations including the Thai Green Building Institute, WHA Industrial Development, and TPI Polene Public Company Limited, the groundwork has been laid for a sustained and substantive partnership.

 

As Dr Lo put it at the close of proceedings: "By collaborating, we can see further and bring better solutions to our cities and to the world." In Bangkok this week, that collaboration moved decisively from aspiration to action.