MANILA • Asean is to sign a free trade agreement with Hong Kong in November, a Philippine government official said yesterday, following three years of talks..
MANILA • Asean is to sign a free trade agreement with Hong Kong in November, a Philippine government official said yesterday, following three years of talks.
The Chinese special administrative region began free trade negotiations with Asean in 2014, four years after the 10-nation economic bloc signed a similar trade deal with China in 2010.
Hong Kong also completed negotiations on an investment pact with Asean, said Philippine Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo.
«This would… send a positive signal to the international community of Asean’s resolute commitment to free trade and open markets, » Mr Rodolfo told reporters.
He gave no details of the two agreements, which dealt with lowering import duties and cutting barriers to investment.
The agreement was reached as Asean economic ministers held a dialogue in Manila yesterday with Hong Kong government officials.
Asean, an economic bloc with a combined population of more than 600 million, is Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner after mainland China, according to the territory’s Trade and Industry Department website.
Hong Kong also acts as an important entrepot for trade between mainland China and Asean, an economic grouping made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
It has remained a separate Customs entity from mainland China since the city’s 1997 handover by Britain.
Asean members have established a free trade area among themselves aiming to slash tariffs on most goods to zero and minimise non-tariff barriers. They have also signed free-trade deals with key trading partners such as Japan and China.
Mr Rodolfo said the Hong Kong deals are to be signed in November, when the Philippines hosts an Asean summit.
Asean also has free trade deals with India, Australia and New Zealand, and South Korea.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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BEIJING • China’s producer price inflation accelerated more than expected to a four-month high in August, fuelled by strong gains in raw material prices and pointing to strong, sustained growth for both factory profits and the economy..
BEIJING • China’s producer price inflation accelerated more than expected to a four-month high in August, fuelled by strong gains in raw material prices and pointing to strong, sustained growth for both factory profits and the economy.
Consumer inflation also quickened more than forecast to a seven-month high, amid signs that upstream price gains are trickling through, but analysts said price gains remain modest and there is little pressure on the central bank to tighten policy further.
«The unexpected rise in both CPI (consumer price index) and PPI (producer price index) suggests there is little hope China’s monetary policy could see some relaxation before the end of this year, » said Singapore-based analyst Zhou Hao at Commerzbank.
«We believe the market has underestimated the inflationary pressure facing China’s economy, although inflation is unlikely to surge in the foreseeable future. That said, onshore rates are still on the rise, » he said, referring to higher financing costs.
China’s PPI rose 6.3 per cent in August from a year earlier, from 5.5 per cent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected producer inflation would edge up to 5.6 per cent, its first pick-up in six months.
On a month-on-month basis, the PPI rose 0.9 per cent.
The price data added to a long list of upside surprises for the world’s second-largest economy this year, which has so far defied analysts’ expectations of a slowdown.
A year-long, government-led construction boom, a resilient property market and a recovery in exports have combined to offset the expected drag from a regulatory crackdown on riskier types of financing, which is slowly driving up borrowing costs.
«The pick-up in PPI shows demand remains steady, and we expect third-quarter economic growth to remain steady from the first half, » said Mr Zhang Yiping, an economist at Merchants Securities in Shenzhen.
With the industrial sector in high gear, the economy grew by a faster-than-expected 6.9 per cent in the first six months of the year.
If activity remains relatively solid in coming months, China’s economic growth could accelerate for the first time in seven years in 2017. Last year’s pace of 6.7 per cent was the slowest in 26 years.
China’s industrial firms have been posting their strongest profits in years as the building boom fuels demand and prices for everything from cement and steel to glass and copper wiring.
Its commodities futures markets have rallied hard and continued to surge through August, boosted by strong restocking demand and government pledges to shut inefficient and highly polluting mines and plants, which has underscored concerns over tight supply heading into winter.
REUTERS

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