Hong Kong, Hainan can ‘forge strong partnership’, build on strengths: John Lee

A worker keeps an eye on the shelves of a duty-free grocery shop in Hainan province.

Photo: Xinhua Hong Kong and Hainan should forge a strong partnership and explore new models of cooperation, the city’s leader has said, urging the business sector to capitalise on the mainland Chinese province’s free-trade port status by offering professional services in areas such as finance, law and accounting.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s call followed a meeting with Feng Fei, the Communist Party secretary of the Hainan provincial committee, on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference on Wednesday.

Hainan, a 35,000 sq km (14,000 square miles) island that is 32 times the size of Hong Kong and 49 times that of Singapore, implemented a separate customs regime last December as it sought to develop into an offshore financial and duty-free hub amid escalating external trade barriers.

Under the regime, most overseas goods entering the island are exempt from import duties, value-added tax and consumption tax.

But if the goods are subsequently shipped to other parts of the mainland, they will be taxed as if imported from abroad.

If imported items are processed in the province and achieve more than 30 per cent value added, they may enter the mainland market tariff-free.

John Lee (left) meets Hainan party secretary Feng Fei on Wednesday.

Photo: Handout Lee said the launch of the regime presented multifaceted business opportunities for Hong Kong companies. “Hong Kong and Hainan, two free-trade ports, can complement each other’s strengths and forge a strong partnership,” Lee said in a social media post, noting that Hong Kong was Hainan’s biggest source of foreign investment and a key trading partner. “Enterprises from both places can seize development opportunities and explore new models of cooperation, leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages in global procurement, trade financing and logistics to import raw materials from overseas. “Meanwhile, Hong Kong can provide Hainan with comprehensive professional services, including finance, legal, accounting, consultancy and mediation.” He added that the two sides could build an efficient industrial chain by fully utilising tariff concession policies.

The city leader also said that the ties between Hong Kong and Hainan had become more frequent and diverse, building on a memorandum of cooperation signed in March last year.

The agreement covered collaboration in trade and investment, finance, tourism and talent exc

原文链接: 南华早报