Aerial photo taken on Aug. 18, 2020 shows the Hengqin Port. The new port to facilitate travel between Macao and Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, was officially put into use Tuesday, a new step to boost development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

Hengqin, South China's Guangdong Province, which underpins the financial rise of neighboring Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), has issued its first measures to support Macao-funded companies to better integrate into the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone.

The measures, which aim to provide a good environment for Hong Kong and Macao-based companies while reducing their operating costs, come as the region badly needs a post-pandemic recovery. 

Experts said that the move will help companies become part of the booming development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) while injecting new momentum into Macao's economic rebound.

A special fund has been established to back up the effort. Among all the measures, one highlight is the research and development (R&D) subsidy, able to cover 10 percent of the R&D expenses of a company in the previous year. The maximum is 5 million yuan ($721,000) per year for a single company that meets the criteria.

The measures will also support private catering businesses in the cooperation zone with a one-time bonus of 300,000 yuan for a single company.

Other subsidies such as rental fees and furnishing deductions for those who have business cooperation in the zone were also announced.

According to the measure, the subsidies are mainly applicable to Macao-funded enterprises whose registration place, tax payments and management are in the cooperation zone. They must also have opened corporate deposit accounts in the banks in the cooperation zone.

The subsidies come amid a rising need for Macao to drive its economic development, especially after the pandemic, which had a huge impact on the city, Liang Haiming, dean of the Hainan University Belt and Road Research Institute, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The adoption of the policies will help Macao companies to take the initiative to strengthen cooperation with neighboring Zhuhai while further integrating into the construction of the GBA, Liang said.

More importantly, it is integrating into the new development pattern of the country's "dual circulation" strategy, which will enable Macao companies to embrace a broader market, the expert said.

The announcement of the measures came less than two weeks after an opinion on supporting the construction of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone was issued jointly by the People's Bank of China, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and other departments. The document will promote the interconnection between the cooperation zone and Macao's financial market and infrastructure.

With more supportive measures in place, Macao-funded companies will be able to focus on business opportunities and markets in the Chinese mainland and better cooperate with other companies in the GBA in expanding overseas markets, Liang said.

Global Times