6 December 1999 (Monday)

The Secretary for Economic Services, Mr Stephen Ip, today (Monday) initialled an Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement on shipping between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Netherlands.

Mr Ip said, "The agreement, which exempts owners of Hong Kong ships from paying tax levied on cargo uplifted in the Netherlands and vice versa, is another measure that benefits shipowners based in Hong Kong and further strengthens our standing as the international shipping centre in Asia."

Hong Kong already has double taxation agreements on shipping with our major trading partners such as the U.S. and Mainland China and has also confirmed with tax authorities of New Zealand and Korea that conditions for reciprocal tax exemption in our laws have been met.

"Similar agreements are under discussion with about twenty other tax administrations, including Belgium, Denmark, the U.K. and Germany," Mr Ip added.