Business Forum on Implementation of CEPA and Guangdong Pilot Measures in Service Sectors Held in Hong Kong

For more information, please contact:
Melissa Ng / David Hsieh at 212-752-3320
Daniel McAtee at 202-238-6360
Wing Yan Tong at 415-835-9315

September 23, 2009 - The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG), the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province today jointly organized a business forum to familiarize industry with the implementation arrangements of the services liberalization measures under Supplement VI to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), in particular the Guangdong pilot measures.

The forum, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, aimed to enhance the trade and relevant service suppliers' understanding of the business opportunities brought about by CEPA.

Hong Kong Chief Executive, Mr. Donald Tsang; the Vice Minister of Commerce, Mr. Jiang Zengwei; the Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr. Huang Huahua, and Hong Kong Financial Secretary, Mr. John C. Tsang, gave opening addresses at the business forum. A representative of the Ministry of Commerce and mayors/vice-mayors of major CEPA implementation cities in Guangdong Province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan and Dongguan) also delivered keynote speeches.

More than one hundred representatives from the central ministries and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province attended the forum, including 14 central ministries, 19 departments of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, and leaders of some cities in the Pearl River Delta region. It demonstrates the great importance that the central government, Guangdong Province and its cities attach to the implementation of CEPA. The forum attracted about 400 participants, mostly Hong Kong businessmen and professionals.

The forum also had breakout sessions, at which officials from the Mainland spoke on the implementation arrangements and answered questions from the audience. The sessions covered major service sectors including financial services (securities and futures, banking, insurance), transport and logistics (road and maritime transport), distribution, professional services (legal, accounting, medical and dental, construction and related engineering), education, tourism, convention and exhibition, telecommunications, electronic business, audiovisual, and digital entertainment.

The HKSARG is committed to creating a favorable environment for Hong Kong enterprises to open up the Mainland market. CEPA has brought substantive economic benefits to both the Mainland and Hong Kong. According to the Government's preliminary assessment, between 2004 and 2008, CEPA’s trade in services and the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) had created 43,000 new jobs; and the IVS has generated additional tourist spending of HK$58 billion (US$7.43 billion). During the same period, it is estimated that CEPA has brought about, for Hong Kong service suppliers, business receipts totaling HK$46 billion (US$5.89 billion) in respect of their business operations on the Mainland. Further, CEPA created almost 50,000 new jobs for Mainland residents.

CEPA effectively integrates the strengths of Hong Kong and the Mainland, and fosters closer economic development and integration between the two places.

For flow of people, over 40 million Mainland visitors have come to Hong Kong under the IVS. For trade in goods, all Hong Kong products have basically enjoyed zero tariff upon entry into the Mainland market since 2006, provided that the relevant CEPA origin rules are agreed and met. So far, the total export value of the benefited goods amounted to over HK$19 billion (US$2.43 billion), with exempted customs duties amounting to about RMB1.4 billion.

For trade in services, the Mainland has expanded the liberalization measures to 42 service sectors in Hong Kong. In some service sectors, e.g. banking, tourism, audiovisual services, the preferential treatment enjoyed by Hong Kong service suppliers is more favorable than other foreign service suppliers.

Details of Supplement VI to CEPA can be found on the Trade and Industry Department’s website [www.tid.gov.hk/english/cepa/index.html].