ENG-2013 — Page 129

5

Commerce and Industry

two places. Since the Mainland and Hong Kong signed CEPA in June 2003, the two sides have concluded a number of supplements to broaden CEPA's coverage and to deepen the liberalisation measures in different service areas. The latest, Supplement X, was signed in August 2013.

Since 1 January 2006, the Mainland has applied a zero tariff to all imported goods of Hong Kong origin that meet the agreed CEPA rules of origin (ROOS). As at the end of 2013, the CEPA ROOs for some 1,780 products had been agreed. For trade in services, 403 liberalisation and facilitation measures have been announced. Under these measures, Hong Kong service suppliers enjoy preferential treatment in entering the Mainland's service industries. In addition, to capture the opportunities arising from the Mainland's policy of expanding domestic demand and upgrading and restructuring of industries, the government has introduced a $1 billion. dedicated fund to assist Hong Kong enterprises in developing brands, upgrading and restructuring operations, and promoting domestic sales in the Mainland.

Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements

To assure overseas investors that their investments in Hong Kong are adequately protected, and to enable Hong Kong investors to enjoy similar protection overseas, Hong Kong has concluded 17 Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs) with other economies. In 2013, Hong Kong concluded IPPA negotiations with the Kingdom of Bahrain and with the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and continued IPPA negotiations with the Russian Federation.

Trade in Textiles

Hong Kong has evolved into a logistics and sourcing hub for textiles. Hong Kong maintains effective origin control measures to prevent abuse and safeguard the interest of Hong Kong's textiles trade.

In 2013, the Customs and Excise Department carried out 2,908 factory and consignment inspections and concluded 25 investigations to combat illegal transhipment of textiles. The department also conducted 41 'blitz' check operations on textile consignments at various import and export control points. It successfully prosecuted 20 companies and eight offenders, with fines amounting to $0.4 million.

Trade in Strategic Commodities

The Trade and Industry Department maintains a comprehensive import and export control licensing system to monitor the movement of strategic commodities through Hong Kong. The system ensures that while Hong Kong has access to advanced products and technologies to sustain its economic development, it is not used as a conduit for illicit diversion of strategic commodities. The department also administers a permit system to monitor activities involving sensitive chemicals as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Hong Kong co-operates closely with its trading partners to keep abreast of international developments on strategic trade controls, and to make sure that its control arrangements are complementary to those of its trading partners.

93