Hengqin New Area Expands Room for Macao's Development
New Opportunities for Macao’s Development
On March 6, 2011, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Guangdong Province and Macao SAR signed a framework agreement on cooperation. The agreement focused on expanding the scope and raising the level of cooperation between Guangdong and Macao. The agreement especially notes that the two sides should work together to develop Hengqin New Area.
The development and construction of Hengqin creates favorable conditions for building Macao into a world tourism and leisure center, accelerating the pace of moderate economic diversification while promoting sustainable development of Macao. Furthermore, Hengqin provides brand new opportunities to Macao residents in terms of employment, study and living, as well as to Macao’s enterprises in terms of development.
“Hong Kong-Macao cooperation is the lifeline for the development of Hengqin,” said Niu Jing. “We have been trying to extend interaction and maximize interest through all-round cooperation between Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong. We aim to unite the power of the three for coordinated development.” By the end of 2013, 98 Hong Kong and Macao enterprises had been registered in Hengqin, with a total investment of about US $3.267 billion, which includes 39 Macao enterprises, with a total investment of about US $411 million. There are 89 more Macao enterprises in the application process.
Moreover, Hengqin provides five major projects to benefit Macao’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): the Chime Long Commercial Street, Hong Qi Village Commercial Street, Lijun Friendship Square, Xin Jiayuan Commercial Street and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Scientific Industrial Park. Two Macao companies have entered into Chime Long, and three into Xin Jia-yuan. Those projects offer ideal venues for SMEs to join together to take root, sprout and grow strong.
The Youyue Business Services Company is the first Macao enterprise approved by the Hengqin New Area Industrial Development Bureau to register in Hengqin. “When my friends heard I wanted to establish a company on the mainland, they all told me I should hire a professional to deal with the administrative procedures, which could take several months. It never occurred to me it would take only one day to complete the registration in Hengqin. They are very efficient,” said Qiu Yuzhen, owner of Youyue. From November 1, 2012, Hengqin New Area has been entitled to exercise approval rights to register enterprises from out of the mainland at the city level and some at the provincial level. These enterprises therefore enjoy one-stop service to complete registration in Hengqin New Area.
In terms of the preferential tax policy, eligible companies will be entitled to a corporate income tax of only 15 percent. The exchange of goods among companies in Hengqin is exempt from value-added and consumer taxes. Enterprises in Hengqin engaged in scientific research and development, design, logistics and service outsourcing enjoy tax-free status on equipment and machinery they need to import, but they should be filed with the authority.
In order to achieve seamless infrastructural links with Macao, Hengqin has endeavored to build a transportation network to connect Hengqin and Macao. Hengqin port is going to be built into a transportation hub, to become one terminus of the Zhuhai-Macao light-rail. Now, first-phase construction of Hengqin port is scheduled for completion by the end of June 2014. During the transition, old facilities will be demolished and new ones built, while the port continues services without affecting the entry and exit of goods and people.
Human resources are a fundamental guarantee for long-term and sustainable development. According to Liao Jingshan, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Guangdong Province, in the future Guangdong and Macao will draw on the experiences of the UM Hengqin campus to actively explore a new cooperation mode in higher education between the two sides. They will enhance cooperation in education and cultivation of human resources to meet the demands of Macao’s sustainable development and of bilateral cooperation, as well as provide strong support for the region’s long-term development.
Macao’s Economy and Finance Secretary Francis Tam Pak Yuen believes in Hengqin New Area’s close relations with Macao. If travel through customs becomes more convenient in the future, Hengqin could become an ideal residential area for Macao people. Hengqin expands room for the development of Macao, and new construction projects will create more job opportunities. “Many Macao people can find jobs in Hengqin, therefore Macao residents should be farsighted about Hengqin’s development,” Yuen said.
