A young couple desperate for a baby is paying $40,000 to use the womb of a domestic helper in what could be the territory's first commercial surrogacy arrangement.
It took less than a week for Rika Kokredi, 26, and husband Kumar, 29, to find a woman willing to have their baby after they placed an advertisement in a newspaper.
An agreement was signed last week with the 29-year-old domestic helper surrogate, who is separated from her husband and has never given birth.
More than 10 women replied to the advertisement in which 'good pay' was offered for a surrogate mother.
The deal is not illegal as it was sealed while the new Human Reproductive Technology Bill awaits consideration by the Bills Committee of Legco. A separate committee is expected to be set up before July.
When it is passed, the bill will outlaw commercial surrogacy as well as surrogacy by a woman who is not married and who has never been pregnant.