Shenzhen seeks greater HK cooperation

Experts see mutual benefits from closer ties

Authorities in the Qianhai special economic zone in Shenzhen, South -China's Guangdong Province on Thursday released a set of guidelines to tighten cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong and attract more Hong Kong companies to the region.

The document said that at least one-third of the land in Qianhai is set to be occupied by Hong Kong companies in the future.

By 2020, the market value of Hong Kong services companies in the zone will top 100 billion yuan ($16.25 billion) and over 100 innovative Hong Kong firms are expected to be incubated in the zone, according to the guidelines.

The document also said that under the framework of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between the central government and the Hong Kong regional government, some Hong Kong companies would enjoy the same policies as mainland companies under a future pilot scheme.

"Hong Kong companies enjoying the same policies [as mainland companies in the pilot scheme] means that Qianhai will further open up, as the Hong Kong companies will face fewer restrictions in the future," Xu Hongcai, director of the Department of Information under the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), told the Global Times Thursday.

The Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone was launched in 2010. Unlike the Shanghai free trade zone, which focuses on the international market, Qianhai focuses more on regional cooperation, according to Xu.

Qianhai was designed as an economic center featuring high-end services, especially in the financial sector. Thursday's document also spelled out some detailed rules to guide the development of financial services in the zone.

The document said that banking institutions from Hong Kong would be encouraged to set up branches in Qianhai and non-banking institutions might be allowed to issue yuan loans in the zone in a pilot program.

"Hong Kong is an important offshore yuan market. Through tighter cooperation with Qianhai, the two-way flow of the yuan will be boosted," Xu from CCIEE noted.

Qianhai has seen rapid growth in its number of registered companies recently, Xu Qin, mayor of Shenzhen, said at a press conference Thursday in Beijing.

A total of 14,225 companies were registered in Qianhai in the January-November period, up 300 percent compared with the level at the end of 2013. So far, around 18,000 companies have registered in the zone, over 10,000 of which are financial institutions, accounting for around 60 percent of the total number of firms in the zone, Xu Qin said.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program, which allows investors in the mainland and Hong Kong to trade stocks on each other's exchanges, kicked off on November 17. Shenzhen is also considering a stock connect program with Hong Kong, and the plan has secured support from China's securities authorities.

"Qianhai will be an important platform for the integration of Shenzhen and Hong Kong," Peng Peng, a senior research fellow at the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday, noting that the financial sector has great potential as Shenzhen is already home to an important stock exchange.

Hong Kong will also gain access to a much larger market via further cooperation with Shenzhen, experts said. The Thursday document said that Qianhai will push for favorable policies to aid Hong Kong firms in expanding in the mainland market.

"It is inevitable that Hong Kong's position as an economic center will -decline," Peng said, noting that the mainland market and its economic strength are "attractive" to Hong Kong firms.

"Hong Kong's future lies in further cooperation with the mainland," he noted.