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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs Rita Lau, representing the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, today (July 2) signed an Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments with the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of the Government of the Republic of Finland, Mr Paavo V?yrynen in Helsinki, Finland.
"Hong Kong enjoys very good bilateral trade and economic ties with Finland and the agreement will further strengthen such ties," Mrs Lau said.
Under the agreement, the two governments will provide for equal treatment of investors, compensation if investments are expropriated, and free transfer abroad of investments and returns. The agreement also provides for the settlement of investment disputes in accordance with internationally accepted rules.
"The agreement will bring mutual benefits to Hong Kong and Finland. It gives additional assurance to Finland investors that their investments in Hong Kong are adequately protected. It also enables Hong Kong businesses to enjoy similar protection in respect of their investment in Finland," said Mrs Lau.
The agreement is effective for 15 years in the first instance, and will remain in force indefinitely unless terminated by either party.
This is the 16th investment promotion and protection agreement that Hong Kong signed. Other countries with which Hong Kong has signed a similar agreement are, in chronological order, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, Italy, France, Germany, Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union, Austria, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and Thailand.
Ends/Thursday, July 2, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:09
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