June 14, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1424

HONG KONG, June 13: Hong Kong and China will complete their first bilateral free-trade agreement by the end of this month, an official in the territory confirmed on Friday.

Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Trade, Henry Tang, told a briefing the closer economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between the two sides would be a “good first step” but warned against over-optimism.

Tang refused to divulge details as to whether the agreement would include nationality provisions which could restrict non-Hong Kong firms from benefiting from CEPA.

He said the conditions for firms would involve more areas than just being incorporated in Hong Kong but added he could not provide more details due to ongoing discussions between the two sides. Some foreign chambers of commerce have raised concerns that only Hong Kong firms would benefit from the agreement.—AFP