ENG-2010 — Page 142

100 Commerce and Industry

tourism, inward investment promotion, convention and exhibition services, intellectual property protection, industry and business support, trade facilitation, consumer protection, promotion of competition, postal services and meteorological services.

It also oversees the development of policies and programmes for the industrial and trade sectors, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as the promotion of services industries. The branch is assisted by a number of departments: the Trade and Industry Department, Invest Hong Kong, the Customs and Excise Department, the Intellectual Property Department, the Post Office and the Hong Kong Observatory. It is also supported by a network of overseas Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs).

Trade and Industry Department

The Trade and Industry Department is responsible for handling the commercial relations of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) with its trading partners, and for protecting Hong Kong's trading rights and trade interests. It also promotes Hong Kong's status as a separate customs territory and a model for international free trade.

Locally, the department provides a range of services to locally based trade and industry organisations and businesses, including issuing certificates of origin, export and import licences and certificates of Hong Kong service suppliers. It also administers a number of schemes that are aimed at providing general support services for various sectors, in particular SMEs. In addition, the department advises local enterprises on changes in the import regulations of our major trading partners, and provides them with relevant trade information.

The department also plays a strategic role in the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) discussion with the Mainland authorities.

Invest Hong Kong

Invest Hong Kong was set up in July 2000 to spearhead Hong Kong's efforts to attract and retain FDI. Its mission is to encourage and assist overseas, Mainland and Taiwanese companies, with the potential to contribute to Hong Kong's economic development, to set up and expand their operations in Hong Kong.

Invest Hong Kong adopts a targeted approach in promoting the business sectors and industries where Hong Kong has a competitive edge. It prepares business plans based on its priorities and carries out investment promotion activities worldwide through its Investment Promotion Units (IPUs) in 11 designated Hong Kong ETOs and the Beijing Office, as well as its overseas consultants in more than ten different strategic locations not covered by the IPUs.

Customs and Excise Department

The Customs and Excise Department enforces various trade controls systems concerning the issue of certificates of origin (including those under the CEPA), the import and export of textiles, strategic commodities, reserved commodities, rough