Shenzhen economic zone looks to attract HK firms

A Shenzhen official is inviting Hong Kong companies to set up shops in the city's Qianhai zone, a pilot area for China's financial reforms.

Guo Jun, executive vice-president of the Qianhai Development & Investment Holding Co, said on Wednesday that Qianhai has made efforts in deepening business cooperation with Hong Kong.

To attract Hong Kong companies, the authority has held 23 investment promotional events and 127 consultation activities in 2013.

These events have helped the Qianhai authority to understand the needs and concerns of Hong Kong companies and provide tailored services to them.

"There will be a series of new measures coming up next year," he said after the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone was established.

A base for innovation and entrepreneurship will be launched in Qianhai on Dec 7. Young startups and college students from Hong Kong will have the opportunity to start their businesses in the zone.

By Oct 31, 2,642 companies have registered in the Qianhai economic zone, with a total registered capital of 20.51 billion yuan ($3.37 billion)

More than 63 percent of these companies are in the financial industry, including some big names such as HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and SoftBank Corp.

About 5.78 percent of them are from Hong Kong, while those from the Chinese mainland take up 93.27 percent.

Guo said the low percentage of Hong Kong companies is due to their lack of understanding and concerns of operating in a different business environment. But the authority hopes Hong Kong companies will account for one-third of the total.