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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) today (August 11) kicks off a second round of roving exhibition on the Mainland to promote the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

The roving exhibition, organised by the Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in Beijing (Beijing Office) and the Information Services Department, will tour 10 Mainland cities, namely Ha'erbin, Shenyang, Yantai, Qingdao, Jinan, Hefei, Suzhou, Ningbo, Nanchang and Changsha.

"With the successful launch of a similar roving exhibition in three Mainland cities in March this year, we have strategically enlarged the scale of the exhibition to cover more provinces which are Hong Kong's potential business partners," a government spokesman said.

"We hope that through the exhibition, Mainland people can get a better grasp of the content of CEPA, and how the arrangement can bring mutual benefits to and foster trade and economic co-operation between Hong Kong and the Mainland," he added.

The Director of Beijing Office, Mr Bowen Leung, said: "The implementation of CEPA has provided a strong motivating force for Mainland and Hong Kong businesses to enhance co-operation.

"Hong Kong enterprises are renowned for their business acumen. With the support of the Central Government and provincial authorities, as well as the active promotion by the HKSARG and other organisations, many Hong Kong products and companies have successfully entered the Mainland market under CEPA."

Mr Leung pointed out that CEPA had opened up a wide segment of the Mainland market to Hong Kong businessmen. This would help complement the development of both Hong Kong and the Mainland and lead to a win-win situation.

"CEPA has been the theme message of our 'Hong Kong Week' promotions in both Jilin and Chongqing earlier this year. At the anniversary of the signing of CEPA, we hope that this large-scale roving exhibition will help bring home the benefits of the arrangement to a wider audience on the Mainland," he said.

Since its implementation on January 1 this year, the operation of CEPA has been smooth. The HKSARG has issued more than 1,400 Certificates of Hong Kong Origin, involving a total export value of more than $580 million covering products such as textiles and clothing, pharmaceutical products, electrical and electronic products, dyes, plastics and plastic products. On trade in services, more than 400 applications for Hong Kong Services Suppliers Certificates have been approved, mainly covering industries such as logistics, distribution, value-added telecommunications services and advertising.

The schedule of the CEPA Roving Exhibition is as follows:

  Ha'erbin        August 11   - August 15

  Shenyang        August 18   - August 22

  Yantai          August 25   - August 29

  Qingdao         September 1 - September 5

  Jinan           September 8 - September 12

  Hefei           October 13  - October 17

  Suzhou          October 20  - October 24

  Ningbo          October 27  - October 31

  Nanchang        November 5  - November 9

  Changsha        November 19 - November 23

  Ends/Wednesday, August 11, 2004

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