Trade and Industry Department The Trade and Industry Department is responsible for conducting Hong Kong's international trade relations, implementing trade policies and agreements, as well as providing general support services for industries and small and medium enterprises. A Review of 2010 Meeting the Pledge In 2010, we promulgated performance targets for a total of 43 services. We carried out random surveys on our licensing/certification services regularly to monitor whether the standard of our services met our performance targets during the past year. The findings revealed that our compliance rate was 100%. For services related to the certification of Hong Kong service suppliers under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), we also achieved 100% compliance. For services provided by our Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs (SUCCESS), our compliance rate was 100%. We achieved 100% compliance in processing applications for the SME Development Fund (SDF). As regards the SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF), our compliance rate was 96.4%. Owing to seasonal fluctuations, some of the applications could not be processed within the performance target during the peak seasons. For the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme (SGS) and the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme (SpGS), our compliance rates were 99.2% and 97% respectively. Some of the applications could not be processed within the performance target as they involved complex company or shareholding structure of the applicants and took us longer time to process. Advice and Feedback We attach great importance to advice and feedback from our advisors and customers. In 2010, we continued to work closely with the Textiles Advisory Board, the Trade and Industry Advisory Board and the SME Committee for advice on important issues and on ways to further improve our services. We also obtained useful feedback and suggestions on our services through the customer liaison groups on strategic commodities, SMEs and rice respectively. Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement Supplement VII to CEPA covering 35 market liberalisation and trade and investment facilitation measures in 19 sectors was signed on 27 May 2010. Among them, 27 are liberalisation measures in 14 service sectors and of which eight are measures for early and pilot implementation in Guangdong Province. All these measures came into effect on 1 January 2011. At the start of 2011, CEPA rules of origin for 1 621 products have now been agreed. Products meeting these rules may enjoy zero-tariff in entering the Mainland market. Supporting Hong Kong Enterprises The application period of SpGS, which was launched in late 2008 in response to the global financial crisis, closed by end 2010. The scheme was well received by the trade and had achieved prominent results, helping more than 20 000 enterprises tide over the cashflow problem during the crisis and preserve more than 340 000 jobs. About 40 000 applications were approved, involving a total loan amount of about $97 billion. Registration for Exporters of Wine to the Mainland The voluntary registration arrangement for exporters of wine to the Mainland was implemented from 20 May 2010 to facilitate local wine exporters to make use of the customs facilitation measures provided by the Mainland Customs as a pilot. 2011 Pledges The performance pledge of the Trade and Industry Department for 2011 is at Annex (pdf format). As part of our continued efforts to improve our service, we have shortened the processing time for one service and introduced targets for two new services. As in previous years, the performance indicators for our commercial relations activities are included in the pledge to give a comprehensive picture of the Department's work in safeguarding and maximising Hong Kong's trade interests. The Way Forward We are committed to serving our customers with dedication and professionalism. In 2011, we shall continue to make the best efforts to deliver better and more client-oriented services.
Performance Pledge
Trade and Industry Department
23 May 2011¡@
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Last revision date: 24 May 2011