BEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) - China's Baidu 9988.HK has received the licence to test autonomous vehicles with its Apollo robotaxi service in Hong Kong as it expands its footprint outside Chinese mainland.

Baidu Apollo International Ltd was approved to conduct trials for 10 autonomous vehicle in North Lantau, according to a statement released by Hong Kong's Transport Department on Friday.

The license will be valid from Dec. 9, 2024 to Dec. 8, 2029, with only one self-driving car operating on specified road sections at a time in its first phase, according to the statement.

During the trial, a backup operator stationed on board shall take over control of the vehicle if necessary, it added.

The Hong Kong government has since at least 2017 actively promoted autonomous vehicles, but has only recently allowed wider trials of autonomous vehicles including on public roads following the rollout of a new regulatory legislation in March this year.

This is the first pilot licence given out by the Hong Kong government since the introduction of the new regulatory regime.

It also marked Baidu's first known permit for autonomous vehicle testing outside mainland China.

The company's robotaxi service Apollo Go is operating in multiple Chinese cities, with the largest fleet of more than 400 vehicles in central China's Wuhan city.

As competition to commercialize autonomous vehicles heats up, Baidu plans to launch its robotaxi service outside mainland China, including Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported last month.

(Reporting by Ziyi Tang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill)

((Ziyi.Tang@thomsonreuters.com;))