GBA Briefs

Macao: Guangdong nods to Macao's professional qualifications

Guangdong province will launch a pilot program to recognize professional qualifications issued by the Macao Special Administrative Region to ensure a smooth flow of talent in the region. The province plans to collaborate with the SAR's established professional qualification and evaluation organizations.

The agreement was reached at a recent meeting of the Guangdong-Macao cooperation task force on labor and social security affairs. Three accords, including reciprocity on social security systems and professional qualifications, were signed. Guangdong also aims to introduce advanced vocational skill standards and training courses from Macao and other places overseas.

Guangzhou: Five joint universities with SARs to be set up

Guangdong province intends to establish up to five joint higher education institutions with Hong Kong and Macao by 2025. Guangdong universities will also admit 2,000 more students from the two special administrative regions next year, according to Guangdong's newly-released 14th five-year plan for educational development.

Five Hong Kong universities already plan to set up branches in mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. By then, Hong Kong sub-degree graduates can either choose to study at Guangdong universities or the joint universities for higher degrees.

Shenzhen: First securities arbitration center gets off the ground

China's first securities arbitration center — a product of collaboration between the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange — has been launched in Shenzhen. It's the world's first such facility to be set up jointly by an international arbitration organization and a bourse.

As the number of Chinese mainland-listed companies grows with IPO reform and the launch of the Beijing Stock Exchange, the center is expected to play a vital role in resolving securities-related disputes, thereby promoting smooth and healthy development of the industry.

Zhuhai: Hengqin cooperation zone sees greater economic vigor

In the past two months since the general plan for the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin was unveiled, about 1,200 enterprises and merchants have requested new tax category identification, invoice collection, tax payment declaration and other tax-related services. The number exceeded the monthly average recorded last year, indicating the growing economic vitality of the cooperation zone.

The main industries of newly-registered enterprises include those engaged in technology research and development, high-end manufacturing, traditional Chinese medicine and Macao's signature brands, cultural tourism exhibition and commerce, and modern finance. They represent 68.7 percent of the total number of enterprises registered in September and 69.1 percent in October in Hengqin.

Foshan: First deal completed under foreign debt facilitation plan

Foshan Shunde Aofeng Spring Co has completed its first business deal under the foreign debt facilitation program. A financing quota valued at 30 million yuan ($4.69 million) was registered, creating a channel for integrating low-cost capital from abroad.

After the State Administration of Foreign Exchange extended the scope of the foreign debt facilitation pilot program for high-tech enterprises to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, eligible high-tech enterprises in the nine Guangdong cities of the Greater Bay Area are allowed to independently borrow up to $5 million from overseas financial institutions. The Foshan deal has made foreign capital more flexible and convenient, boosting the development of enterprises.

Huizhou: Business conference spurs investments

The 2021 Huicheng District (Shenzhen) Business Environment Promotion Conference, organized by the government of Huizhou's Huicheng district, was held recently in Futian district, Shenzhen. Representatives of nine projects, including Tian'an Cyber Park Huizhou, signed cooperation agreements at the conference, with projected investments of 9.6 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) and total output value of 10.4 billion yuan. The projects cover smart manufacturing, life health, the digital economy and new energy.

Huicheng has attracted 63 investment projects so far this year, with investments from Shenzhen taking up 48 percent.

Dongguan: HKIA's logistics park to have trial run by end of this year

A logistics park built by Hong Kong International Airport in Dongguan to pre-process export goods from the Chinese mainland will have a trial run by the end of this year. The park will handle customs clearance, security screening, palletization, cargo acceptance and other services before the goods are shipped to Hong Kong International Airport by sea and from there by air to destinations worldwide. The route in reverse order also works for imports from overseas to reach the mainland market via Hong Kong.

More than 10 percent of the mainland's exports, valued at $263 billion, and 14.3 percent of imports worth $295 billion were handled through Hong Kong last year, according to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Zhongshan: Job fair draws more than 3,000 graduate applicants

A job fair organized by the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong province and Zhongshan's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau attracted about 200 companies and more than 3,000 university graduates.

More than 586 positions were up for grabs, drawing 4,480 applicants. The maximum monthly salary offered was above 10,000 yuan ($1,565).

Candidates with doctoral degrees were offered the highest average pay of more than 9,000 yuan monthly.

Jiangmen: Cooperation zones get strong backing

Jiangmen will fully support the development of the Hengqin cooperation zone and the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, according to the 16th plenary session of the 13th Jiangmen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. The session proposed accelerating development through science and technology, promoting industrial revitalization, redesigning industrial parks, integrating with Hong Kong and Macao, attracting overseas Chinese investment, and nurturing talent for high-quality development.

Zhaoqing: City set to boost building materials industry

Zhaoqing — a key provider of construction materials and prefabricated building parts in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area — aims to spruce up the city's construction materials industry with an output value of 50 billion yuan ($7.82 billion) by 2025, according to Zhaoqing's five-year plan (2021-25) for promoting the development of the construction materials sector. Zhaoqing hopes to create a sound and innovative industrial development system focusing on cement and cement-based products, high-end architectural ceramic products and new building materials in the next five years.

At present, Zhaoqing has 88 enterprises in the cement industry, 68 enterprises manufacturing architectural ceramic products and a national-level quality supervision and inspection center.