Trade minister predicts Cepa will generate $4.2b and 7,000 jobs
The trade pact between Hong Kong and the mainland would inject $4.2 billion into the city's economy and create 7,200 new jobs this year, the trade minister estimated yesterday.
But business leaders complained the government had not done enough to help professionals and business people fully exploit the advantages brought by the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa).
John Tsang Chun-wah, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, said Cepa created 16,500 jobs for the city last year. Companies in the logistics, sales and distribution, transport, advertising, tourism and telecommunications sectors had increased their investments in Hong Kong by about $1 billion because of the trade pact, he said.
Mr Tsang said he expected Cepa's second phase, which began on January 1, to be more satisfactory than the first, signed in 2003.
However, Executive Councillor Leung Chun-ying criticised the government for not providing sufficient support to local professionals to ensure they benefit.
'The government is not proactively promoting Hong Kong's professional services on the mainland,' Mr Leung told a business seminar yesterday.
However, he also said Hong Kong professionals should strengthen co-operation with mainland counterparts to stay a step ahead of overseas counterparts in the services sector.
Trade Development Council executive director Fred Lam Tin-fuk said it was difficult to export services to the mainland. 'The social systems are very different. Even if the trade restrictions are reduced, it doesn't mean the services sector can immediately develop on the mainland,' Mr Lam said.
Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce executive director Eden Woon Yi-teng said the government needed to talk more with the mainland authorities about opening up markets.
'The business operating and investment environments are difficult in China. It isn't really just about Cepa,' he said.
He was also disappointed that Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen did not introduce any new ideas regarding Cepa in his latest budget, an issue Mr Woon said many small and medium-sized enterprises had thought would be the focus of his speech.
