On 9 October 2024, the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC and the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region signed the Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) Agreement on Trade in Services. The new agreement became effective from the date of signing and will be officially implemented on 1 March 2025. The new liberalization measures to be implemented   include:

1. Construction and Related Engineering Services
   
   

   (1)	Allow Hong Kong general practice surveying enterprises to provide professional services in Guangdong Province through filing of records.
   (2)	Allow Hong Kong engineering construction consultant enterprises which have completed filing of records to bid for consultancy services projects in joint venture in compliance with the laws in the nine Pearl River Delta municipalities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

   
   
2. Film Services
   
   

   (1)	Remove the restriction on investment in enterprises engaging in film production by Hong Kong service suppliers.
   (2)	Allow the enterprises established by Hong Kong service suppliers and approved by the relevant Mainland authorities to operate distribution of imported buy-out Hong Kong motion pictures.

   
   
3. Television Services
   
   

   (1)	Remove the quantitative restriction on Hong Kong people participating as principal creative personnel in online television dramas.
   (2)	Allow imported dramas produced in Hong Kong to be broadcast during prime time in television stations in the mainland after obtaining approval from the National Radio and Television Administration.

   
   
4. Tourism Services
   
   

   (1)	Optimise the implementation of the 144-hour visa-exemption policy for foreign group tours entering Guangdong from Hong Kong through increasing the number of inbound control points and expanding the area allowed to stay to the whole of Guangdong Province, and to provide facilitation for Mainland travel agents when receiving group tours at West Kowloon Station of the High Speed Rail.
   (2)	Support cruise companies to arrange international cruise itineraries involving port-of-call in the mainland cruise ports in accordance with the laws. In respect of mainland visitors participating in such cruise itineraries, they can travel to Hong Kong in transit to join all sorts of cruise itineraries, by presenting their passports and confirmation documents of the relevant cruise itineraries.

   
   
5. Financial Services
   
   

   (1)	Remove the asset requirement of not less than USD2 billion as at the end of the most recent year for the Hong Kong financial institutions which invest in shares of insurance companies.
   (2)	Remove the restriction prohibiting foreign bank branches established by Hong Kong service suppliers from conducting bank cards services.

   
   
6. Telecommunication Services
   
   Allow Hong Kong service suppliers to distribute in the mainland telephone service cards which can be used globally but cannot be activated in the mainland.
   

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