* CEPA Bringing Major Boost To Hong KongJohn Tsang Chun-wah, Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology told a business conference this week that the CEPA trade agreement between Hong Kong and the mainland would inject $4.2 billion into the city's economy and create 7,200 new jobs this year.
Mr Tsang said that CEPA had already created 16,500 jobs for the city, and that companies in the logistics, sales and distribution, transport, advertising, tourism and telecommunications sectors had increased their investments in Hong Kong by about $1 billion.
CEPA (the Closer Equal Partnership Agreement) was initiated in 2003, and CEPA II, the second phase of the process, took effect from January, 2005.Under the trade liberalisation deal, Hong Kong originated products covered in 1,108 Mainland tariff codes may enter China tariff-free, while Hong Kong service suppliers have preferential access to the Mainland market in 26 service areas.Last week, Hong Kong banks were revealed to be makeing strides in entering the Mainland market for retail insurance under CEPA.
However, there is a cloud on the horizon in the shape of the WTO, which is examining whether the CEPA terms give Hong Kong and Macau (which has a comparable deal) an unfair advantage over non-Chinese investors and traders.