Beijing-based certified public accountant (CPA) company, ShineWing, announced its merger with Hong Kong CPA firm, Ho and Ho & Company, Thursday.

This is the first consolidation among CPA companies between the mainland and Hong Kong under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), said Chen Yugui, General Secretary of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

"With this merger, ShineWing has accomplished substantial business expansion into Hong Kong and will be more qualified in international competition," said Zhang Ke, Chairman of the Board of ShineWing CPA.

"China has about 5,000 certified public accountant companies and about 70,000 certificated public accountants, and they are right on the way towards globalization," said Liu Yuting, director of the Accounting Department of the Ministry of Finance.

After the merger, Ho and Ho & Company CPA will be renamed ShineWing CPA (Hong Kong), said Zhang.

All legal procedures with the Hong Kong Society of Accountants and the mainland administration for industry and commerce were completed by Tuesday.

Founded in 1981, ShineWing is one of the fastest growing domestic CPA companies in China, whose 2004 earnings stood at about 100 million yuan (12.30 million US dollars). Ho and Ho & Company CPA was founded in 1978 and extended its business into the mainland in the 1990s.

The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, or CEPA, was launched in 2003 to eliminate tariffs on hundreds of Hong Kong goods and facilitate Hong Kong business activity in the mainland by offering preferential treatment. .

Source: Xinhua