May 9, 2001

Will Thaksin be able to convince foreign investors that all is on track during his sojourn in Hong Kong?

Apart from Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Dhanin Chearavanont, the chairman and chief executive of Charoen Pokphand Group, is the only Thai executive to have been invited to speak at the Fortune Global Forum of top leaders and CEOs.

Dhanin will share the session tomorrow about corporate governance in Asia with Mark Mobius, the president of Templeton Emerging Markets Fund; Ronnie Chan, chairman of Hang Lung Group; and Joseph Berardino, CEO of Andersen.

The theme underlines the importance of governance following the recent financial crisis. With increasing reliance on foreign capital, international competition, generational changes and e-commerce, there is more demand for improved corporate governance and transparency in Asia's companies.

Getting the keiretsus, chaebols and state enterprises to change the way they operate may be like asking a tiger to change its stripes, but Dhanin will join other experts in looking at the nature of reform efforts that have taken place and how far-reaching their impact has been.

The three-day Global Fortune Forum, which started yesterday with a keynote address by Jiang Zemin, president of the People's Republic of China, brings together CEOs and top government officials from around the world to discuss and debate key issues facing multinational corporations. The focus will be "The Next Generation Asia".

"Hong Kong will be the perfect setting for heads of major international companies to talk about how quickly business is changing in Asia," said John Hey, managing editor of Fortune.

"With 'Next Generation Asia' as the theme, we'll focus not only on the leaders driving Asia into the next century but also the styles and emerging trends shaping business in the Pacific Rim.

"Among the topics to be discussed include emerging technologies, new leadership, Asian conglomerates in transition, youth culture, consumer trends, the outlook for capital markets and the rapidly-evolving changes in China and beyond."

The main speakers include Gerald Levin, CEO of AOL Time Warner, and Tung Chee-hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Prime Minister Thaksin will speak tonight and former US president Bill Clinton tomorrow.

Thaksin is likely to try to bolster foreign investors' confidence in his government's economic policy. He is expected to inform the forum of the progress his government has made over the past three months in tackling the banking sector and NPLs as well as about other economic programmes laid down for Thailand's sustainable recovery.

Thanong Khanthong