88. Since the introduction of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in 2003, ten Supplements to CEPA have been concluded between the Mainland and Hong Kong to expand market liberalisation and further facilitate trade and investment. CEPA has presented tremendous development opportunities to Hong Kong's service suppliers and professionals. Up till now we have issued 3 000 Certificates of Hong Kong Service Supplier and thousands of Hong Kong residents have set up individually-owned stores in the Mainland in accordance with the preferential treatment under CEPA.
89. At the end of last year, I signed a new agreement with the Ministry of Commerce to promote liberalisation of trade in services between Hong Kong and Guangdong. After the agreement comes into effect, Guangdong will open up 153 services trade sub-sectors to Hong Kong service suppliers, accounting for 95.6 per cent of all trade sub-sectors under the WTO's classification system. I hope the Mainland will further deepen the liberalisation measures on this basis and extend them nationwide, thereby achieving basic liberalisation of trade in services between the entire Mainland and Hong Kong by the end of this year.
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