Hong Kong and ASEAN Sign Protocol to Amend Investment Agreement

Manila/Hong Kong (ANTARA) - The First Protocol to Amend the Investment Agreement between ASEAN and Hong Kong was signed in Manila on Sunday (20/9), according to a press release from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

The protocol, signed during the 58th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings, allows Hong Kong companies to enjoy treatment no less favourable than that accorded to local or foreign companies within the ten ASEAN member states.

The signing of the protocol is expected to provide legal certainty, improve the investment climate, and create more investment flows, according to the Hong Kong SAR government’s Commerce and Economic Development Bureau.

ASEAN has been Hong Kong’s third-largest destination for foreign direct investment for four consecutive years, with investment values reaching HK$671.2 billion (1 HKD = Rp2,261), according to the bureau.

The expansion of free trade and investment agreements to Timor-Leste, the 11th member of ASEAN, is still awaiting ASEAN’s internal procedures, according to the press release.