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.
LAWANDTAX-NEWS.COM
