Past Events

Salina Yan, Director-General of Trade and Industry, briefed members with the overview and the opportunities of Hong Kong-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at roundtable luncheon on 21 November. She announced that the Hong Kong-ASEAN FTA, together with a related Investment Agreement, had been signed on 12 November. These agreements – which encompassed trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical co-operation, dispute settlement mechanism and other related areas – would bring legal certainty, better market access and fair and equitable treatment in trade and investment, thus creating new business opportunities and further enhancing trade and investment flows between Hong Kong and ASEAN economies. Subject to completion of the necessary procedures, Yan explained that the agreements could enter into force as early as 1 January 2019. She highlighted the regular review mechanism uniquely applied to this FTA, which could pave way for future negotiations of improvements to market access commitments and further trade liberalisation.