Hong Kong, Australia formally sign trade and investment Agreements

March 26, 2019

SYDNEY - Hong Kong and Australia today formally signed off on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and an Investment Agreement, which are comprehensive in scope, covering trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property, Government procurement, competition and other related areas.

The Agreements provide Hong Kong traders and investors with legal certainty and more favourable access to the Australian market, while creating more business opportunities and enhancing trade and investment flows bilaterally.

The HKSAR's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Edward Yau, and Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham, signed the Agreements in Sydney.
Yau said that Hong Kong-originating goods will be able to enter Australia totally tariff-free via simplified procedures. This tariff treatment is among the best offers Australia has extended to its FTA partners," he said.
"Hong Kong investors can also enjoy more favourable access to the Australian market under the FTA as the monetary thresholds for investment screening have been raised."
Australia was Hong Kong's seventh-largest services trading partner in 2017, with total two-way services trade of HK$44 billion. It was Hong Kong's 20th largest merchandise trading partner in 2018, with total merchandise trade around HK$54 billion.

At the end of 2017, Australia ranked eighth among Hong Kong's destinations of outward direct investment, with a stock of HK$134 billion, and 17th among Hong Kong's sources of inward direct investment, with a stock of HK$33 billion. 

www.hketosydney.gov.hk/ (ATI).