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ASEAN sees rise in trade with Hong Kong: Cambodian official

Xinhua, March 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Trade between Cambodia and China's Hong Kong is rising fast, expanding from about 1 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 to 1.3 billion U.S. dollars last year, the Khmer Times reported Monday, citing a Cambodian government official.

Veng Sothy, an undersecretary of state at the Commerce Ministry, released the figures at the 6th meeting of the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement Trade Negotiation Committee in Cambodia's Siem Reap province last Friday.

He said both trade and investment between Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Hong Kong have been increasing, and the free trade agreement between ASEAN and Hong Kong is not only expanding mutual economic links, but also connections between ASEAN and the Chinese mainland.

"This arrangement will serve as a platform for ASEAN and Hong Kong to work closely in building areas of mutual benefit, especially in enhancing the supply chain of manufacturing products," Sothy was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

In the meeting, Hong Kong was represented by Winky So, its deputy director general of trade and industry.

Participants noted that progress had been made in negotiations in specific areas like the trade in goods, trade in services, investment, rules of origin, standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening economic cooperation between ASEAN and Hong Kong and repeated their willingness to finish the FTA by the end of this year.

Mey Kalyan, a senior advisor to Cambodia's Supreme National Economic Council, said Hong Kong is a transit point into the Chinese mainland and is a fast growing city with a strong economy.

He said Cambodia can benefit from good relations with Hong Kong as Hong Kong is also a transit hub with Europe, the United States, South Korea and other countries and it can link Cambodia to the world. Enditem