Helmut Sohmen Chairman Pacific Basin Economic Council

Helmut Sohmen was born in 1939 in Linz, Austria. He has been a resident of Hong Kong since 1970. He is Chairman and President of the World-Wide Shipping Group of companies which own and operate a large tanker and bulk carrier fleet from offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, London, Bermuda and Toronto. He is also Chairman of N&T Argonaut AB in Stockholm, one of Sweden's largest tanker companies.

Sohmen is a Director and Chairman of the Pacific Basin Economic Council and has served as the Chairman of its Hong Kong, China Member Committee. Over the years, Sohmen has been involved with many industry and community activities and serves on the boards of several other companies, including HSBC Holdings PLC in London and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in Hong Kong. He has been Chairman of the International Maritime Industries Forum in London, President of the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) in Copenhagen, Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and founding Chairman of the Hong Kong-Austrian Association. He is also Honorary Chairman of the Austro-Chinese Friendship Society, President of the Sohmen-China-Foundation, and a member of the Austrian Chancellor's International Advisory Group in Vienna. He presently serves as the member from Austria in the ASEM-Vision Group.

In the 1980s, Sohmen was a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, and of the Basic Law Consultative Committee, the Securities Commission, and the Aviation Advisory Board. He also Chaired a government committee reviewing the operations of the Hong Kong Commission Against Corruption. From 1985-89, as Managing Director of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd., he was instrumental in establishing this second passenger airline in Hong Kong.

Sohmen was educated in law in Austria and the United States and is presently a member of the Courts of the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is married to Anna Pao and they have three children.

For More Information:
http://www.pbec.org/