By CRI Correspondent, Liang Tao

A senior Hong Kong government official says the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, or CEPA, has been extending benefits both to Hong Kong and the mainland. CRI’s Hong Kong Correspondent Liang Tao reports

Reporter: Director-General of Trade and Industry Department of the Hong Kong SAR government, Raymond Young, said as a strategic agreement between the mainland and Hong Kong, CEPA has facilitated and liberalized trade between the two further.

He said since the implementation of CEPA on January 1st, 2004, as many as 29,000 new jobs have been created in Hong Kong.

He added that till last month, Hong Kong goods worth 4.8 billion HK dollars, or 600 million US dollars, had enjoyed preferential tariff given by the mainland.

Moreover, he noted that with CEPA in place, it has become easier for mainland enterprises to invest in Hong Kong because they find the whole application procedure simpler now.

Till date, as many as 378 mainland enterprises have obtained approval to invest in Hong Kong, with their total investment reaching 2.3 billion US dollars.