East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta says the legal framework needed to attract foreign investment will be established by the end of this year.

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong, Mr Ramos-Horta said East Timor had a budget deficit of 30 million US dollars this year, which had been filled by contributions from donor countries.

He said although East Timor wanted to reduce its dependency on foreign aid, its only source of export revenue was through coffee products.

Mr Ramos Horta said by November or December, the new administration hoped to produce legislation to establish the legal framework necessary to entice foreign investors to East Timor.

He said the country had received interest from companies from the United States, Spain, Portugal and Australia.