Four tons of plastic sacks, the first batch of products made in Macao enjoying the exemption of tariff under CEPA, were forwarded on Wednesday (Feb 18th) to China's mainland city of Zhongshan.

As the first beneficiary of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), Fung Yiu Sun, head of the Yiu Wah Plastic Factory, said that CEPA is a good opportunity for enterprises in Macao, which embodies the Central People's Government's full support for Macao's industry.

According to Fung, his company has saved 3,000 patacas (some 375 dollars) from this batch of goods, due to the exemption of tariff. Fung said that the low production cost allows the company to buy more equipment and enlarge the production.

Fung said that the application for the duty-free status runs swiftly, taking the company less than 10 days. An official from the Economic Services Bureau told reporters that the government will speed up the examining and approving procedure and take measures to convenience the applicants.

CEPA, which was signed in October last year and came into effects on January 1, 2004, is considered to further bring closer the economic and trade relations between Macao and the Chinese mainland. Local experts said that CEPA will facilitate Macao's industrial restructuring so as to promote Macao's economic growth, mainly through the exemption of tariff on 273 kinds of products made in Macao.

Editor: Wing