Erich Parpart, Suchat Sritama, Sucheera Pinijparakarn The Nation September 30, 2014 1:00 am

Thai banks and businesses with branches and offices in Hong Kong, which is one of China's special administrative regions, are preparing contingency plans, as pro-democracy protesters have paralysed parts of the city.

Stocks went down yesterday amid investor worries over the Hong Kong chaos.

Vallop Vitanakorn, vice chairman of the Federation Thai Industries (FTI), said further escalation of violence in Hong Kong could affect the Thai export industries if the situation starts to hamper shipments. This could slow down the delivery of goods to third-party companies on the other side of the world.

He said that if the temporary suspension of operations of 29 commercial bank branches in Hong Kong prolongs, it could pose a difficulty for financial transactions between Thai exporters and counterparts in Hong Kong. The logistical process in the city could also be affected if port workers join the protest, which could lead to a possible postponement of deliveries.

The operation of Thai export firms with offices in Hong Kong could also be affected by a slowdown in quality control processes due to a shortage of workers if the tensions escalate to port areas, he added.

"Any shipments from Thailand to third countries, such as the United States, European countries, and the Middle East would be delayed if the protest starts to affect Hong Kong's logistic sector. Some shipments from Thailand to those countries have to pass through and offload from a smaller freighter through to a bigger cargo ship in Hong Kong," he said.

Stock Exchange of Thailand's index yesterday fell 14.37 points, or 0.9 per cent, in line with the region as investors worry about the chaos in Hong Kong, while the investors resumed profit taking ahead of "trigger" funds due to mature soon.

The index closed at 1,585.79 points with total trade volumes of Bt60.92 billion.

Foreign investors showed net sells of Bt1.746 billion, while securities accounts also recorded net sells, of Bt1.878 billion. But local investors showed net buys of Bt3.58 billion.

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Fear of impact on exports