In a year filled with talk about the growing links between Hong Kong and the mainland, nothing made the issue clearer than the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement.
The bilateral trade agreement signed in June will eliminate tariffs on a range of exports and allow easier access to mainland service sectors. Businessmen, politicians, government officials and economists alike have pointed to the deal as a way to help save Hong Kong's economy.
Cepa is one of a set of privileges that have been granted to Hong Kong, giving the city the inside track to the mainland's rapidly developing economy. Others include allowing individual mainland travellers to enter Hong Kong and permitting banks to conduct renminbi business.
But for all the talk about Cepa and renminbi banking business, the true test will come when the new year begins and the measures come into effect. Most people are optimistic about the results.
'Cepa is a large step towards integration with China,' said Ben Simpfendorfer, an economist with JPMorgan Chase. 'Whereas the Basic Law lays out Hong Kong's political relationship with China, Cepa lays out its economic relationship and is the first document to do that. It's a document that talks about the next five or 10 years, not the next 12 months.'
Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, chair professor of economics and finance at City University, said: 'We see that it really provides more opportunities for service sectors in Hong Kong.
