From the Commissioner
I am pleased to report that Hong Kong’s economic recovery is becoming increasingly entrenched.
In the first quarter of the year, GDP grew 8.2 percent in real terms, having resumed positive year-on-year growth of 2.5 percent in the previous quarter.
With the strong momentum of growth in Hong Kong and among our regional trading partners, our GDP is expected to grow by 4 percent to 5 percent for 2010 as a whole.
Illustrating confidence in Hong Kong’s economic prospects, Hong Kong and the United States recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Wine-related Businesses (MOU). The MOU would further foster joint efforts by Hong Kong and the U.S. to promote U.S. wine exports in Hong Kong and via Hong Kong into the massive Mainland of China market. In addition, it would promote American wine-related goods and services as well as culinary tourism.
The MOU was signed in Hong Kong in May by our Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Rita Lau, and visiting Secretary of Commerce of the United States, Gary Locke.
As one of the world’s leading wine producers and exporters, the United States is Hong Kong’s fourth largest wine importer. Wine imports from the U.S. amounted to US$49 million in 2009-2010, representing a five-fold increase over 2007, the year before Hong Kong had completely exempted the wine duty.
Following the signing of the Hong Kong-U.S. MOU, Hong Kong signed similar cooperation agreements with the State of Oregon and the State of Washington on wine promotion in May as well. With these new opportunities, we welcome wine companies from the U.S., including the Pacific Northwest, to tap the booming wine markets in Asia, particularly the Mainland of China.
These recent developments follow the February announcement that Hong Kong and the Mainland of China signed a cooperation agreement on customs measures for wine entering the Mainland market through Hong Kong.
Under the measures, registered wine traders may request Mainland Customs to conduct valuation of wine duty 10 working days before the shipment is exported from Hong Kong to the Mainland of China. When the shipment arrives at a Mainland boundary point, Mainland Customs will normally complete the procedure within one working day. The measures also expedite the clearance process at Mainland ports to normally three or seven working days. This new initiative commenced in June 2010 as a pilot project in Shenzhen ports.
These developments should be encouraging news for our American friends as new export opportunities to Hong Kong and the Mainland markets arise for American vineyards.
HONG KONG ECONOMIC AND TRADE OFFICE IN WASHINGTON D.C.
1520 18th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202)331-8947 Fax: (202)331-8958
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Copyright @ 2010, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington D.C.
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