Hong Kong’s free trade agreement with Peru will take effect on September 1, underscoring the special administrative region’s commitment to forging closer economic ties with trading partners in Latin America, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah said Tuesday.

Yau said in a statement that the agreement, the city's second FTA with a Latin American economy, provides Hong Kong manufacturers, service providers and investors with legal certainty of more favorable treatment and market access to Peru, creating business opportunities and enhancing trade and investment flows.

"Peru is an important trading partner of Hong Kong in Latin America,” Yau said. “The FTA will provide a favorable platform for Hong Kong's traders and investors to expand their business in Peru and explore business opportunities in other Latin American markets through Peru."

Under the FTA, Peru will eliminate tariffs on approximately 98.3 percent of its tariff lines for Hong Kong-origin exports to the country, enhancing their competitiveness. Apart from preferential tariffs, the trade can also benefit from trade facilitation measures and reduction of trade barriers.

On trade in services, Hong Kong service providers will enjoy benefits in over 150 services sectors in which Peru has made specific commitments under the FTA, including professional services, computer and related services, research and development services, financial services, and transport services.

On investment, Peru will accord Hong Kong investors national treatment as specified in the FTA. Hong Kong and Peru have also concluded negotiations for an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA).

"We will continue to actively forge FTAs and IPPAs with more trading partners to expand economic and trade networks, with a view to consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international trade center and investment hub, and playing its role as a 'super connector' and 'super value-adder'," Yau added.

The FTA was signed on Nov 15, 2024 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, which Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu attended.

Besides the FTA with Peru, the Hong Kong SAR has also signed eight other FTAs with 20 economies, including the Chinese mainland, New Zealand, the member states of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), Chile, the Macao SAR, the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), Georgia and Australia.