Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) today (June 16, Dubai time) to strengthen mutual investment protection. The Agreement seeks to enhance the confidence of investors, expand investment flows and further strengthen the economic and trade ties between the two places.

The Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, signed the IPPA today in Dubai, along with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance of the UAE, Mr Younis Haji Al Khoori.

“An IPPA enables investors of the two parties to enjoy corresponding protection of their investments in the host economies, and thus enhance investors’ confidence in making investments overseas. Hong Kong has been making dedicated efforts to expand its network of IPPAs in order to enhance two-way investment flows and boost our economy,” Dr Chan said.

Under the Agreement, the two governments undertake to provide investors of the other side with fair, equitable and non-discriminatory treatment of their investments; compensation in the event of expropriation of investments; and the right to free transfers abroad of investments and returns. The Agreement also provides for settlement of investment disputes under internationally accepted rules. The Agreement will enter into force after the fulfillment of relevant internal requirements by both sides.

The IPPA with the UAE is the third similar agreement that this term of Government has signed since taking office in July 2017; the other two are the investment agreements with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Australia respectively. It is also the 21st investment agreement that Hong Kong has signed with a foreign economy.

Foreign economies with which Hong Kong has also signed an IPPA are the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia, Austria, the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and the United Kingdom.