ENG-2016 — Page 130

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Commerce and Industry

The government offers a $1 billion BUD fund to help Hong Kong enterprises enhance competitiveness and further business development on the Mainland through developing brands, upgrading and restructuring operations, and promoting domestic sales.

Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements

Hong Kong has 19 Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAS) with other economies to assure overseas investors their investments in Hong Kong are protected and to enable Hong Kong investors to enjoy similar protection overseas. These include the Hong Kong-Canada IPPA, which came into force in 2016, and an investment agreement signed with Chile in the same year. Hong Kong concluded IPPA negotiations with Bahrain, Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates, while negotiations with the Russian Federation, Iran and Mexico were under way. Hong Kong also announced its intent to launch IPPA negotiations with India.

Trade in Goods

In 2016, the Customs and Excise Department carried out 25,293 factory and consignment inspections and concluded 135 investigations to ensure compliance with factory registration. conditions, and import and export licensing requirements. The department also conducted 51 blitz operations on consignments of goods at various import and export control points. It successfully prosecuted 43 companies and 28 offenders, leading to fines totalling $1.63 million. and imprisonment sentences of up to 72 days.

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 the territory 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 cooperates closely with its trading partners to keep abreast of international developments on strategic trade controls and to make sure its control arrangements complement those of its trading partners.

In 2016, the Customs and Excise Department investigated 192 cases of unlicensed import and export of strategic commodities and prosecuted 52 companies and one offender, resulting in fines totalling $1.18 million. Goods valued at $11 million were confiscated.

Customs Cooperation

The Customs and Excise Department plays an active role in the work of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and Apec's Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures. The department maintains close liaison with the WCO, and seconds one officer each to the WCO Compliance and Facilitation Directorate in Brussels, Belgium, the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific in Seoul, South Korea, and the WCO Asia Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building in Bangkok, Thailand. They help take forward the WCO's initiatives.

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