Academics praise newly introduced policies in the Deep Cooperation Zone, highlighting the benefits they bring to Macao. However, there is concern that the lack of people on the island will prevent the Macao SAR from taking advantage of these measures.
Since the relaxation of the epidemic prevention policy, the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone has intensively introduced a series of policies for the benefit of Macao, covering various aspects such as entrepreneurship, employment, residence, education and finance, in an attempt to lift the fog epidemic and accelerate the construction and development of the Greater Bay Area.
However, an academic from Macau, who prefers to remain anonymous, told PLATAFORMA that the lack of people in Hengqin remains the biggest problem, which limits its development.
In the “Support Measures for the Development of Macao Enterprises in the Deep Cooperation Zone between Guangdong and Macao in Hengqin”, which is the first policy dedicated to benefit Macao, whose support is granted to eligible Macao enterprises, in various aspects, including subsidies rental allowances, renewal grants, branding incentives, operating incentives and grants for research and development expenses. The academic is concerned with the fact that one day the subsidy will run out, wondering what will happen if the enterprise does not finance itself. Most companies in Macau are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and Hengqin is currently underpopulated, so there is no prospect for them.
In February this year, the Decree “Standards for promoting the development of the Deep Cooperation Zone between Guangdong and Macao in Hengqin” proposed that qualified professionals in the areas of finance, architecture, planning and design, who carry out their activity in Macao and in other places outside China, they can provide services in Hengqin, and their experience abroad can be considered as domestic experience. However, the scholar said, “Whatever the profession, the people of Hengqin cannot support such a large scale of economic development and are unlikely to need the services of professionals.”
The social service researcher suggested that the authorities should look for ways to attract more people to live in Hengqin, including offering more job opportunities. “Without job opportunities, no one will want to live there and no company will want to move.”
In the opinion of Professor Lou Shenghua of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the Polytechnic University of Macau, although there are still some disadvantages, such as facilitating clearance, transport links and income disparity between the two locations, the introduction of the Decree will , to some extent, attract more Macanese to work and live in the Shenzhen-Huangqin area. “The Decree provides for a registration system for Macao professionals to practice their profession in Hengqin, and for the convergence of educational, medical and community services with those of Macao, while facilitating the flow of information across the border”.
To achieve a balanced development of the two places, Lou Shenghua said, “the key lies in the gradual convergence of systems and rules and the continuous improvement of the level of integration between Macao and Hengqin”.
New change
However, politics will inevitably bring new changes to Macao. The former adviser to the Secretariat for Administration and Justice considers that the Ordinance has a set of new highlights in terms of promoting the development of industries in the Cooperation Zone, aligning mechanisms and rules, and facilitating Macau residents in life in the Cooperation Zone and its integration with Macao. This will bring new changes to the construction of the Zone and its integration with Macau, as well as breaking some of the political taboos in terms of practical implementation.
Lou Shenghua cited the example of the Ordinance, which proposes to support the establishment of an account management system in the Zone that is compatible with its development, and to promote the free and comfortable flow of capital between the Zone and Macau; establish a cross-border investment and finance management system to accommodate a high level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation; and allow foreign domestic servants to provide services to Macao residents and overseas talents, high-level and scarce, upon application, etc.
The Ordinance also proposes the establishment of a “failure-free and tolerant mechanism in the Zone” to encourage public officials in the Zone to take positive action. Even if “the reforms and innovations carried out in the Zone do not achieve the expected objectives, but are in line with the strategic positioning and mission requirements of the Zone, the decision-making processes are in compliance with the relevant laws, regulations or provisions, and if there is no self-interest or willful collusion to the detriment of the public interest, the relevant units and individuals shall be released from all liability”.
The Guangdong Provincial Government also announced the delegation of a total of 159 provincial-level administrative powers to the Hengqin Cooperation Zone, effective from April 1, including administrative sanctions, administrative licenses, administrative inspections, administrative confirmations and administrative fees. , which will be implemented by the Executive Committee of the Guangdong-Macao Hengqin Deep Cooperation Zone and its working bodies, with the understanding that the Hengqin Cooperation Zone will “take care of its own affairs”.
Cooperation zone GDP goes to Zhuhai
Samuel Tong, dean of the Macau Institute of Management and president of the Political and Economic Studies Association, described that “the policies introduced now in Hengqin are very aggressive”.
In his opinion, the Ordinance clarifies some of the previous doubts in a clearer and more detailed way, such as article 16, on the appropriation of the Zone’s revenues.
The Ordinance stipulates that Guangdong Province and Macao SAR must jointly negotiate and establish a revenue sharing mechanism for the Zone. In particular, the Cooperative Zone will be managed by the first funding level, and the exact measures will be formulated by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province; revenue from the transfer of use rights to state-owned land in the Cooperative Zone will be divided equally between the Zone and Zhuhai after deducting costs; and data on the Zone’s national economic indicators will be included in the Zhuhai statistics.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the main indicator of national economic accounting, which also includes income and exit statements, institutional sector accounts and balance sheets.
Tong explained that this approach is fully in line with international standards. He pointed out that, according to the rules of the International Trade Organization, the Mainland and Macao belong to two different customs territories, and “Hengqin is at the axis of internal and external circulation, so it is even more important to follow international rules and practices. “.
Tang also mentioned another important document that clearly sets out the development direction of Hengqin’s financial industry, the “Opinion on financial support provided for the construction of the Deep Cooperation Zone between Guangdong and Macao in Hengqin” (“Hengqin Finance 30”), which also supports the admission of Macao residents to work in financial institutions in Hengqin.
In addition, “Article 30 of Hengqin Finance” proposes to support the facilitation of cross-border e-commerce and other new trade agreements, and support Macao financial institutions eligible to access the RMB Cross-border Payment System (CIPS), to optimize cash settlement channels. border and trade finance. According to Tong, this series of policies is not only aimed at promoting the internationalization of RMB in Hengqin, but also “promoting the financial infrastructure of the two places, thus helping cross-border financial facilitation.”
