Pillar of GBA integration

Key role for Nansha in HK, Macao economic linkages with the mainland and joint development

Guangzhou’s Nansha district, as one of the Chinese mainland’s new fast-track economic development zones, holds promise for Hong Kong and Macao, with a grand plan to further unleash the district’s potential and give it a bigger role in the nation’s opening-up.

Experts and academics are convinced that international investment and cooperation in Nansha will bring tremendous opportunities to industries and people from Hong Kong and Macao, enabling the two special administrative regions to better integrate into the country’s overall development.

The State Council, China’s Cabinet, on June 14 issued an overall development road map for Nansha — located at the southernmost end of the Guangdong provincial capital — to deepen comprehensive collaboration between Guangdong and Hong Kong and Macao. The blueprint aims to turn Nansha into a strong support base for the two SARs to have a bigger stake in national development.

Under the plan, the construction of a scientific and technological innovation industry cooperation base, as well as a youth entrepreneurship and employment cooperation platform, will be stepped up to foster joint technological innovation by talents from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, and create more development opportunities for young people.

Nansha, which is already part of the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone, will strive to become a gateway for highlevel opening-up to help mainland enterprises “go global” and promote international economic cooperation. To generate a world-class business environment and boost cross-border financial connectivity, the area will develop a sound rule convergence mechanism. It will also serve as a high-quality landmark in urban planning and construction, as well as in smart city, education, healthcare and environmental protection.

Nansha’s multiple advantages in location, industrial foundation and shipping, plus its complementary strengths with Hong Kong and Macao, have placed it in an ideal position to drive the country’s openingup and international cooperation, according to experts.

As the only coastal area in Guangzhou, Nansha has the unique edge of being almost at the geographical center of the 11-city cluster of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It is a pivot linking the region with other parts of the world, said Mao Yanhua, director of the Institute of Regional Openness and Cooperation at Guangzhou’s Sun Yat-sen University.

“Under the country’s ‘dual circulation’ development strategy, Nansha will complement (Shenzhen’s) Qianhai and (Zhuhai’s) Hengqin economic zones to support the integration of Hong Kong and Macao into the overall national development, while helping to accelerate the high-level opening-up of the Greater Bay Area,” said Mao.

Hong Kong and Macao boast sound professional services and highly developed legal systems, and are highly internationalized, he said. “Under ‘one country, two systems’, the two SARs have inherent advantages in the nation’s opening-up. Nansha also has complementary strengths through its internal connections on the mainland.”

Mao urged Hong Kong to play an active part in building international technology and innovation centers in the GBA, thereby lifting the city’s global competitiveness, and to leverage its advantages in international talent, information, capital and other technology and innovation-related resources. He said Nansha’s extensive space will provide “strong impetus not only for Hong Kong’s economic transformation, but also for Macao’s industrial diversification”.

The development plan will be implemented in the whole of Nansha district, which spans 803 square kilometers, with Nanshawan, Qingsheng hub and Nansha hub in the area serving as launching pads in the first phase.

Chan Chi-fong, secretary-general of the Macao Development Strategy Research Centre and a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said the focus and key tasks highlighted in the Nansha plan lie in institutional innovation, rule convergence and building an open platform for international collaboration.

Comparing Nansha’s plan with that of Hengqin, which was promulgated in September last year, Chan said the former focuses on how to coordinate development with Hong Kong and Macao to further open up to the world, while the latter emphasizes helping Macao to diversify its economy and enable its residents to work and live better.

Chan said a higher level of openness for Macao’s service industries will strengthen the city’s trade and financial operations and further promote its role as a platform linking the mainland with Portuguese-speaking countries.

“The total value of trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries reached $200 billion in 2021, having exceeded $100 billion for five consecutive years. A number of Guangdong enterprises have invested in Brazil, Portugal and Mozambique. This shows there’s huge potential for economic and trade cooperation between Guangdong and Portuguesespeaking nations,” he said.

“Macao can play an active role in helping Guangdong companies expand cooperation with Portuguesespeaking countries. Through coordinated development with Nansha, Macao can join in the nation’s building of a new high-level opening-up system.”

Nansha’s GDP hit 213.61 billion yuan ($31.61 billion) in 2021, growing 9.6 percent year-on-year. About 3.7 percent of the district’s economic output went to research and development. The district has accumulated 749 institutional innovations to date, with 43 of them in national practice.

More than 2,700 Hong Kong and Macao enterprises were registered in Nansha last year, with the total value of investment amounting to $117 billion.

To attract more Hong Kong and Macao talents to settle in Nansha, the district government introduced 10 new measures on June 30 — two weeks after the Nansha development plan was unveiled. The authorities said the measures are among the most preferential nationwide and are aimed at providing comprehensive support for new residents in aspects including employment, career development, housing and medical care.

Under the policy, young people from Hong Kong and Macao who choose to work in Nansha will each receive a one-off employment subsidy of up to 120,000 yuan and an additional monthly wage allowance of up to 5,000 yuan for three consecutive years. Companies set up by Hong Kong and Macao youths in Nansha will be granted up to 4.5 million yuan in bonuses and subsidies within three years.

The district will also offer no fewer than 1,000 intern posts and at least 2 million yuan in internship subsidies annually to prepare youths for taking up jobs there.

In the latest supportive move for professionals, Nansha granted certificates to 16 engineers from Hong Kong and Macao in late July to work on the mainland.

“Nansha has provided a range of support for entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Macao, including living and transport subsidies, as well as accommodation for professionals, greatly reducing the cost of starting a business,”

said Chris Lee Pak-hang, founder of Guangzhou Bojing Cultural Ltd.

Lee, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, started his enterprise in Nansha late last year after mainland cities in the GBA launched a string of preferential policies. His company focuses on teaching children traditional Chinese costume design, and the production of related products.

But he does not plan to limit his operations to the domestic market. “With the gradual increase in production capacity, we hope to bring our cultural products and traditional Chinese culture to the world,” he said.

Gao Min, general director of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s Fok Ying Tung Research Institute, said the appeal of Nansha’s technology and innovation system is attributed partly to its support for both startups and talent. Located in Nansha, the institute is an important platform for HKUST to transform its scientific and technological achievements on the mainland.

“For example, when an entrepreneurial team from Hong Kong or Macao sets up an office in Nansha, not only can the startup enjoy preferential policies from the local government, Hong Kong and Macao members of the team can also apply for generous talent subsidies, which provide strong reserves for their initial funds,” Gao said.

According to Gao, a growing number of professionals are heading for Nansha because of its rapid development. The Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao (International) Youth Entrepreneurship Hub — an entrepreneurship and innovation base jointly set up by the Nansha district government and the institute — had attracted more than 50 startups and entrepreneurial teams as of July.

“As more cooperative projects between the mainland and the two SARs take root in Nansha, integrated development in the Greater Bay Area is set to scale new heights,” he said.

“Nansha has provided a range of support for entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Macao, including living and transport subsidies, as well as accommodation for professionals, greatly reducing the cost of starting a business.”

CHRIS LEE PAK-HANG Founder of Guangzhou Bojing Cultural Ltd