The Chinese mainland's "green passage" for Hong Kong investors is to be further expanded in order to strengthen cooperation of the two sides.

The Supplement VII to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, representing the seventh expansion since 2004, was signed yesterday by John Tsang, financial secretary of the Hong Kong government, and Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei in Hong Kong.

The new supplement, which takes effect from January 1 next year, will give Hong Kong firms greater and easier access to the mainland market in areas including medical services, technical testing, specialty design, distribution, banking, securities, construction and tourism.

It provides 35 new market liberalization and trade and investment facilitation measures in 19 sectors.

For example, Hong Kong medical service providers will be able to establish solely invested hospitals in Shanghai and Chongqing, as well as in Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan provinces under the new supplement.

Hong Kong banks which run a representative office on the mainland for more than one year can apply to set up branches on the mainland, and those with operational businesses on the mainland for more than two years and profitable in the year before they raise the application, can apply for a license for yuan business.

China is also considering launching a fund on the mainland which tracks Hong Kong shares to deepen cooperation in financial products and services.

There will also be wider access for Hong Kong investment when the investors want to establish tourism, construction or air logistics agencies on the mainland, the new supplement said.

Trade between the mainland and Hong Kong jumped 31.4 percent from a year earlier to US$61.8 billion in the first four months, with the mainland's exports to Hong Kong rising 29.8 percent through April and imports surging 62.9 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs.