On 14 June the Central Government unveiled a 26-point Nansha Master Plan to encourage further cooperation between Hong Kong and Nansha. The key words in the title of the Master Plan are “world-facing”, highlighting the international super-connector role of Hong Kong.
Nansha is the southern-most and hence the closest district of Guangzhou to Hong Kong. By high-speed rail, the Qingsheng station is 35 minutes away from West Kowloon, placing Nansha within the daily-commute radius of Hong Kong. And thanks to the co-location inspection arrangement in the West Kowloon Station, there is no customs, immigration and quarantine procedure at the Nansha end.
Mega infrastructure projects are being built, such as the 24-km long Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge that links Nansha to Shenzhen, and the rail systems that provide rapid transport to the city centre of Guangzhou and Zhuhai.
What is in Nansha?
With a land area of 803 square kilometers (72% of Hong Kong), Nansha already has a diverse economy. The Toyota joint-venture plant in Nansha is producing a million cars a year; the Nansha container terminal is the largest in southern China; Nansha has China’s largest home port for cruise ships and the third largest shipbuilding yard in China. HSBC is building a global training centre in Nansha, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) which has a site area twice that of the Clearwater Bay campus will be open on 1 September this year.
Incentives for Hong Kong?
·Corporate Tax: reduced rate of 15% for selected industries in the pioneer zones
·Personal Tax: for Hong Kong residents, capped at Hong Kong tax liabilities
·Subsidies: for eligible Hong Kong residents, entrepreneurship subsidies, supporting services for employment and accommodation, and for children’s education
·Professional Services: enhanced market access and recognition of qualifications
Structured Dialogue with Hong Kong
15 months ago, the Consultative Committee on Guangdong-Hong Kong Co-operation (Guangzhou Nansha) was appointed by the Guangzhou Government. This is the first Mainland to Hong Kong G2B committee. There are 36 members covering subjects such as city planning, financial services, trade, professional services, innovation and technology, education, communication, tourism, legal services, policy research, healthcare, transportation, and youth matters etc.
The Committee’s Service Centre
The Committee has a 10,000 square-foot fully equipped service centre in Nansha which services the needs also of 23 outside members who are major Hong Kong chambers of commerce, professional bodies, and other non-government bodies from Hong Kong. The use of the premises and facilities is for free. Some of these member bodies have since obtained legal entity status in Guangzhou, opened bank accounts, and employed staff. The application process takes less than a month.
The International Community District
This one sq.km district was planned by the Planning Group of the Committee led by Mr. KK Ling, former Director of Planning of the HKSAR Government. Within this District is the non-profit boarding Minxin School (www.minxinnansha.org) for 1600 Hong Kong primary and secondary students which will be open on 1 September this year. The HKUST(Guangzhou) campus adjoins the northern boundary of this District, and immediately to the south is the multi-use 300,000 sq.m. project of Sun Hung Kai Properties situated next to the high-speed rail Qingsheng Station.
