According to the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore, Fong Ngai, Hong Kong will continue to make the most of its "China advantage" and global connectivity to foster economic ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in 2012.
In a speech in Indonesia, Fong said that "Hong Kong is well placed to benefit from Asia's resilience (in a world where the economic outlook is still fairly uncertain), with Mainland China and ASEAN being Hong Kong's first and second largest trading partners".
Six of the ASEAN countries are among the top 20 trading partners of Hong Kong, while trade between Hong Kong and ASEAN grew at an annual average of 8% from 2006 to 2010, reaching USD85.4bn in 2010, and is expected to have experienced double-digit growth in 2011.
Fong reiterated that the China's National 12th Five-Year Plan reinforced Hong Kong's strategic position as an international centre for financial services, trade and shipping, and set out the support for Hong Kong's development as China's offshore RMB centre and an international asset management centre.
"In 2011,” Fong disclosed, “Hong Kong handled RMB1.9 trillion of trade settlement and clearances. This represented more than 90% of the total trade conducted in RMB, but only 8% to 9% of the total trade portfolio of Mainland China. In other words, the potential of offshore RMB business in Hong Kong is huge and yet to be fully tapped.”
He also pointed to the role of Hong Kong’s free trade treaty with the Mainland - the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). "Under CEPA, all Hong Kong products that meet the rules of origin can enter the Mainland market tariff-free,” he said. “CEPA also provides preferential and enhanced access to the Mainland market in the services sector.”
He confirmed, therefore, that there are plenty of opportunities for ASEAN businesses to take advantage of CEPA by setting up a presence in Hong Kong.
.Tags: tax | offshore | trade | agreements | banking | financial services | offshore banking | tariffs | Association of East Asian Nations (ASEAN) | trade treaty | China | Hong Kong | currency | services | Hong Kong | China | Asia
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