About 20 members attended the Council's Annual General Meeting. The year 2011 was an eventful one for Thailand and indeed the world, and the Council played its part in keeping members informed about the changing political and economic situation in the Kingdom and the affects of global events on Hong Kong and the Mainland. The Council continued to develop ties with other organizations. Our Chairman, Mr. Bernard Chan, GBS, JP, summarized the past activities of the Council and stressed that the mission in 2013 and beyond was again, to expand the number and range of activities.

Mr. Bernard Chan, GBS, JP, Dr. Harry Lee, Mrs. Katherine Ngan, JP and Mr. Clayton T. Hebbard were re-elected as Directors for the ensuing year. Simultaneously, Ernst & Young was re-appointed the Council's Honorary Auditors. The current Board of Directors consists of 12 directors:

1) Mr. Bernard Chan, GBS, JP, President of Asia Financial Group

2) Mr. William Chao, Managing Director of Wing Wah Limited

3) Mr. Tom V. Chatjaval, Founder and Chairman & CEO of TVC Management Ltd

4) Mr. Kenneth Gaw, President & Managing Principal of Gaw Capital

5) Mr. Horst Geicke, Chairman and Co-Founder of Pacific Alliance Group, VinaCapital Group

6) M. Clayton T. Hebbard, Consultant of Grant Thornton

7) Dr. Harry Lee, SBS, JP, Managing Director of TAL Apparel Limited

8) Mr. Willy Lin, Managing Director of Milo's Knitwear (International) Ltd

9) Mrs. Katherine Ngan, JP, Executive Director of May Cheong Toy Products Fty Ltd

10) Mr. Raphael Tong, Managing Director of Shanghai Mister Softee Food Products Co Limited

11) Mr. Benjamin Lam, Executive Director & Deputy CEO of Pacific Century Premium Development Ltd

12) Mr. Benjamin Cha, Executive Director of HKR International Ltd

We were honored to have a special guest joining us at the luncheon right after our AGM, Dr. Narongchai Akrasanee, Ph.D, Former Minister of Commerce, Senator of Thailand and Member of the National Legislative Assembly.

Dr. Narongchai has served as Minister of Commerce, a Senator of Thailand and a Member of the National Legislative Assembly. Among many posts over the years he has also been a Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Thammasat University, a consultant to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and an advisor to many Prime Ministers of Thailand. He retired as chairman of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand at the end of June 2010.

He is currently Honorary Advisor to the Fiscal Policy Research Institute, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MFC Asset Management Plc and Chairman of Brooker Group Plc. Among his many public service positions, he also serves with the National Economic and Social Development Board, the Monetary Policy Committee, the Office of Insurance Commission and the Thailand Development Research Institute.

He received B.Ec. Degree with honors from the University of Western Australia, and M.A. and Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Narongchai's insight into Thai affairs is considerable and highly regarded, and his views of the current economic and the political situations are sure to be of great interest.