Qianhai signs co-op agreement with 37 firms

The Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone signed a cooperation agreement worth 220 million yuan ($34.5 million) with 37 companies and two institutions on its trade promotion meeting in Hong Kong on July 16, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

The two institutions are the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Productivity Council.

The 37 companies include 12 companies with Hong Kong investors and 12 companies with foreign investors. A quarter of the companies are global Fortune 500 companies, while half of them are in the finance sector, the report said.

Qianhai is a new economic zone in Shenzhen, which was officially approved by the State Council on June 29. It focuses on the financial, logistics and IT services sectors. A series of pilot measures on finance, taxation, legal and human resources will be launched here.

Companies allowed to operate there will enjoy a 15 percent preferential corporate profit tax rate, and workers will be exempted from individual income tax.