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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Agreement on Government Procurement

Government agencies often need to purchase goods and services with public resources and for public purposes. Such purchases are generally referred to as government procurement. The Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) establishes rules requiring that open, fair and transparent conditions of competition be ensured in government procurement.

The GPA is a plurilateral agreement and applies only to those WTO Members who have agreed to be bound by it. Under the Agreement, each signatory (usually referred to as "Party") shall set out in a "coverage schedule" which procurement activities would be governed by the Agreement. A Party is only required to accord non-discriminatory treatment to goods, services and suppliers from other Parties but not non-Parties.

Hong Kong acceded to the GPA in June 1997. Please visit the WTO website for more information about the GPA.

Procurement Covered by Hong Kong, China's Commitments

Hong Kong, China's existing commitments under the GPA cover the procurement of goods, all construction services and eight major groups of non-construction services by almost all government bureaux and departments and five public bodies provided that the contract value exceeds the respective thresholds:

  • Government entities listed in Annex 1 to Appendix I to the GPA
    For contracts of a value not less than -
    130,000 SDRNote (equivalent to about HK$1.37 million) for procurement of goods and specified services; and
    5,000,000 SDR (equivalent to about HK$52.54 million) for construction services.
  • Non-Government public bodies including the Airport Authority, the Hospital Authority, the Housing Authority and Housing Department, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation and MTR Corporation Limited
    For contracts of a value not less than -
    400,000 SDR (equivalent to about HK$4.20 million) for procurement of goods and specified services; and
    5,000,000 SDR (equivalent to about HK$52.54 million) for construction services.

Note: Special Drawing Rights (SDR) is an international currency unit set up by the International Monetary Fund. For the calculation of thresholds for the period 2024 - 2025, 1 SDR is equivalent to about HK$10.5070795.

Please visit the WTO website or the e-GPA Portal for further information on commitments of Hong Kong, China and other GPA Parties under the Agreement.

Information on the procedures for handling complaints against alleged breaches of the GPA is available on the web page of the Review Body on Bid Challenges.

Useful Links

Please click the following links for information on Hong Kong's major public procurement entities.

Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (The Treasury Branch)
Government Logistics Department
Development Bureau
Airport Authority
Hospital Authority
Housing Authority and Housing Department
Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation
MTR Corporation Limited