Hong Kong signed a protocol on Sunday to amend an investment agreement between the special administrative region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, further enhancing trade and economic cooperation.

Bernard Chan Pak-li – under-secretary for commerce and economic development of the HKSAR -- inked the protocol in the Philippine capital, Manila, enabling Hong Kong enterprises to enjoy treatment no less favorable than those accorded to local or foreign enterprises in the ASEAN member states, according to the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau.

“ASEAN is Hong Kong’s key investment partner and has been our third-largest destination of outward direct investment for four consecutive years, with a stock of HK$671.2 billion ($85.55 billion),” a bureau spokesman said.

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“Our flourishing investment relations have been boosted by the investment agreement which has strengthened Hong Kong’s position as an international investment hub,” he said.

The protocol was signed before the 10th ASEAN Economic Ministers-Hong Kong, China Consultation conference, co-chaired by Hong Kong and the Philippines as this year’s ASEAN chair.

The other signatories included Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, Cristina Roque, and Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, Suphajee Suthumpun.

The accord mainly incorporates schedules of reservations into the investment agreement to give effect to its Article 3 (national treatment) and Article 4 (most-favored-nation treatment).

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These articles provide that a party shall accord other parties’ enterprises and their investments non-discriminatory treatment, except for those measures reserved in the schedules, according to the statement.

The signing is set to bring about legal certainty, enhancing the investment environment and creating more investment flows, it added.

“We’re confident that the signing of the protocol and its subsequent implementation will drive steady growth in Hong Kong’s economic, trade and investment relations with the ASEAN region,” the bureau spokesman said.

Complementing the free trade accord between Hong Kong and the ASEAN member states, the agreement will give enterprises and their investments in non-services sectors national treatment and most-favored-nation treatment, after reservations incorporated by the protocol into the agreement come into force.

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Apart from non-discriminatory treatment, the investment agreement provides for fair and equitable treatment of investments, physical protection and security of investments, and the assurance of the free transfer of investments and returns. In case of expropriation or investment loss owing to war, armed conflict or a similar event, compensation will be provided according to the agreed standard as specified under the agreement.

Besides the Philippines and Thailand, the other ASEAN member states covered by the investment pact include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam. The free trade agreement and the investment agreement would be extended to cover Timor-Leste – ASEAN’s latest and 11th member state – pending the completion of the regional grouping’s internal procedures.