Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau arrived in Bangkok today to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting.

Upon his arrival, Mr Yau met Peru's Vice Minister of Foreign Trade Miguel Palomino and the two sides announced the launch of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Hong Kong and Peru after the meeting.

Mr Yau said: “To help Hong Kong enterprises and investors expand their markets, and further reinforce Hong Kong's status as an international trade and investment hub as well as our worldwide network of economic and trade connections, we have been actively seeking to forge FTAs and investment agreements with our trading partners.”

Noting that Peru is Hong Kong's important trading partner in Latin America, he added that he was confident the agreement would help enhance the trade and investment ties between Hong Kong and Peru, and bring mutual benefits to both economies.

The first round of the FTA negotiation will be launched in January 2023 and cover subjects such as trade in goods, services, investment, electronic commerce, and small and medium-sized enterprises. The two sides reaffirmed their common aspiration to achieve a high-quality and comprehensive FTA.

Hong Kong has so far signed eight FTAs with the Mainland, New Zealand, member states of the European Free Trade Association, Chile, Macau, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Georgia and Australia.

In addition to pursuing an FTA with Peru, Hong Kong is actively seeking to accede to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and engaging in exploratory talks with other potential FTA or investment agreement partners.