Pact signing: Secretary for Home Affairs Dr Patrick Ho (centre) and the State Forestry Administration's Zhao Xuemin (fourth right) witness the panda agreement signing in Beijing.

Ocean Park and the Wolong Nature Reserve Administration have finalised arrangements to send two new giant pandas to Hong Kong.

Secretary for Home Affairs Dr Patrick Ho and the State Forestry Administration's Zhao Xuemin witnessed the agreement signing in Beijing today. It stipulates that after the pandas arrive, the park should only present them to the public once they are physically fit.

The agreement also establishes working relations between the park and the reserve on panda nursing, breeding and research.

The pandas will arrive in Hong Kong by the end of April, and there will be a handover ceremony.

The results of the Name the Giant Pandas activity will also be announced that day and the pair will be officially named. About 13,000 entries have been received.