Hong Kong will further foster its economic cooperation with the mainland, by seeking market access to provinces and municipalities in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region for the city's services industries, Leung Chun-ying pledged in his Policy Address.

The SAR government has proposed to the central government that the "early and pilot implementation" policy be extended from Guangdong province to other provinces and municipalities in the Pan-Pearl River Delta region, the Chief Executive said.

The central government has adopted the "early and pilot implementation" approach in Guangdong province to improve Hong Kong service industries' access to that market.

This policy has proved successful in assisting Hong Kong in better capitalizing on its advantages as a platform to provide funds, talents and technology to the mainland.

"The PPRD region represents a vast economic hinterland for Hong Kong that the city can leverage on," Leung said at a Wednesday press conference. "We will endeavor to seek for more business opportunities for local corporations."

Leung explained that the central government's adoption of the "early and pilot implementation" policy to the PPRD region had proved to be successful in helping Hong Kong in better capitalizing on its advantages as a platform to provide funds, talents and technology to the mainland.

The "9+2" provinces/regions in the PPRD region (including the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi and the cities of Hong Kong and Macao) account for one-third of the country's population and gross domestic product, representing a huge potential market. It is expected that the distinct market qualities and cost structures of different provinces and cities can promote the modernization and development of the PPRD region, presenting new opportunities for Hong Kong's economic development.

"The extension toward the PPRD region can further cultivate deeper economic integration between the two places, as local corporations can achieve more cost savings and more market access to other mainland provinces through the extension measure," Chong Tai-leung, an economics professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told China Daily.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong will also strengthen its existing economic ties with Guangdong province under the current Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Framework Agreement. The two parties will seek to foster comprehensive cooperation in the areas of finance, modern services industries, industry collaboration, international shipping, logistics, trade, convention and exhibition, tourism, environmental protection and social administration.

The current "Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council" will be reorganized and renamed as "Consultative Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation between Hong Kong and the Mainland" to make policy proposals and suggest implementation strategies for strengthening economic and trade cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland.

The Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Framework Agreement was signed between Hong Kong and the Guangdong province in 2010 which elevated the development of the Pearl River Delta region to the strategic level of national development, specifying Hong Kong/Guangdong co-operation as a national policy.

The Hong Kong government also further refined the operation of the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by establishing an additional joint working group.

The central government agreed that the officials from the Ministry of Commerce and municipal governments as well as the Hong Kong's Trade and Industry Department will formulate the joint working group to provide targeted assistance to business sectors, currently being liberalized under the CEPA framework, which have encountered relatively more entry barriers in the mainland market.

"The proposed working group mechanism is a very important strategy to resolve the current practical difficulties confronted by local service industries' players in gaining access into the mainland market even (though) the CEPA agreement is in place," Chief Executive Leung reckoned.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) CK Chow believed that through the joint working group, the problems facing Hong Kong companies in entering and operating in the mainland market can be addressed more effectively, and therefore the opportunities brought by CEPA can be fully utilized.

After signing the CEPA Supplement 9 in last June, the liberalization measures between the two sides have reached 338 in 48 service sectors.

oswald@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 01/17/2013 page2)