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FS signs CEPA upgrades

June 28, 2017

Reaching agreement

Reaching agreement:  Financial Secretary Paul Chan (front, second left) signs new CEPA plans with Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Yan, witnessed by Chief Executive CY Leung (centre).

Financial Secretary Paul Chan and Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Yan signed two agreements under the Mainland & Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) framework today.

 

They are the Investment Agreement and the Agreement on Economic & Technical Co-operation (Ecotech Agreement).

 

Chief Executive CY Leung witnessed the signing.

 

The agreements make CEPA a comprehensive free trade pact by broadening its scope to cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and economic and technical co-operation.

 

The Investment Agreement is the Mainland's first investment deal with pre-establishment national treatment commitments made for the advocation of investment adopting a negative listing approach.

 

It will be implemented on January 1.

 

Its Most-Favoured Treatment provision specifies that any preferential treatment the Mainland accords to investments and investors from other countries or regions will be extended to Hong Kong investments and investors.

 

The agreement will also cover admission of investments outside the scope of the Agreement on Trade in Services, including manufacturing sectors, mining sectors and investment in assets.

 

The Ecotech Agreement, which comes into immediate effect, consolidates and updates the economic and technical co-operation activities set out in CEPA and its supplements, taking into account the development trends and needs of Hong Kong and the Mainland.

 

It also incorporates co-operation in the economic and trade aspects of the Belt & Road Initiative and Sub-regional Co-operation into CEPA framework, thereby providing Hong Kong businesses opportunities to participate in national development strategies.

 

Since the implementation of CEPA 14 years ago, the Hong Kong products that have been imported into the Mainland tariff-free have enjoyed total tariff savings of RMB6 billion.

 

In addition, 1,800 local enterprises have successfully applied for certificates to enter the Mainland market with CEPA benefits.

 

Click here for details.



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