PACIFIC BASIN ECONOMIC COUNCIL
MAIN PAGE | EVENTS & PROGRAMS | 1999 | PBEC CHAIRMAN VISITS HAWAII

PBEC Chairman Visits Hawaii March 2-5, 1999 Helmut Sohmen, PBEC Chairman, met with Hawaii business and government leaders this month in anticipation of the PBEC 2000 International General Meeting, which will be held in Honolulu next year. During his visit to the islands, Dr. Sohmen met with key figures in Hawaii's private- and public-sector, including: Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano; Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris; Randolph House, Deputy Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Forces; Robert G. Lees, PBEC Secretary General; Howard Stephenson, PBEC Treasurer and Chairman of Pacific Century Financial Corporation; and Larry Johnson, Chairman of the PBEC 2000 Hawaii International General Meeting. Dr. Sohmen visited the PBEC International Secretariat office in Honolulu, which is taking the lead in promoting PBEC to the state and organizing the 2000 IGM. He also gave extensive interviews to the local media. One highlight of Dr. Sohmen's tour was a luncheon held in his honor and organized with the help of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. On March 4, he spoke before over 200 of Hawaii's top business leaders, including members of the Hawaii Business Roundtable. His address — "The Global Economic Situation: Where are We Heading?" — drew from his years of experience as one of Hong Kong's leading businessmen as well as from his work with PBEC. Dr. Sohmen toured Hawaii's new, state-of-the-art Convention Center, which will host the 2000 IGM, and stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the official conference hotel. Dr. Sohmen is Chairman of World-Wide Shipping Agency Ltd. in Hong Kong and Chairman and President of World-Wide Shipping Group Ltd. in Bermuda. He was elected as International Chairman in 1998 after serving as Chairman of the Hong Kong, China Member Committee for nine years.