Hong Kong: Trading days on HK-mainland Stock Connect to be increased
There’ll be more trading days on the Stock Connect -- a mutual investment program between the stock exchanges of the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region -- after security regulators on both sides adjusted the trading calendar in a bid to further open up the capital markets.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Aug 12 an average of five trading days swill be added annually to the program’s northbound trading, through which overseas investors can trade in eligible A shares on the mainland. For southbound trading, nine trading days will be added, allowing mainland investors to access eligible Hong Kong shares.
Due to the different public holidays in the SAR and on the mainland, investors will not be allowed to trade through the Stock Connect on certain days. The change will maximize trading hours as long as both markets are open.
By the end of June this year, the northbound leg of the Stock Connect had held 2.55 trillion yuan ($378 billion) of stocks in the A-share market, while the southbound leg had 1.91 trillion yuan of shares on the Hong Kong bourse, according to the CSRC.
Macao: Moves afoot to revive convention and exhibition business
The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute plans to roll out seven measures later this year to revive the pandemic-hit convention and exhibition industry. The moves were revealed at a recent meeting between the institute and five exhibition industry associations in the Macao Special Administrative Region.
The initiatives include launching multiple trade exhibitions to stimulate the sector; boosting support for small and medium-sized enterprises and practitioners; and setting up a communication mechanism with the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone on Hengqin Island to further collaboration in the exhibition field.
Guangzhou: New tax services offered to lure overseas Chinese enterprises
Guangzhou’s tax authorities introduced 10 new initiatives on Aug 12 to attract more overseas Chinese enterprises and talents to settle down and start businesses in the Guangdong provincial capital and help them tackle tax issues that matter most.
More offices with smart equipment offering online tax services to overseas Chinese and businesses will be set up in Guangzhou and Jiangmen. The authorities in both cities will also make greater efforts to explain tax policies to overseas Chinese and enterprises, helping them to handle tax problems, and to safeguard the rights and interests of taxpayers.
Shenzhen: Qianhai offers more support for HK, Macao IT talents
The Qianhai Authority 1 issued a series of measures on Aug 11 to promote scientific and technological innovation in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone. It will help Hong Kong and Macao universities to set up incubators and investment funds, and provide one-stop services for talents from the two special administrative regions, including accommodation and transportation.
The authority will also encourage scientific and technological innovation cooperation among Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao with a one-off subsidy of 300,000 yuan for eligible projects.
Eligible joint laboratories founded by the world’s top 500 enterprises and national innovation carriers can also get capital funding worth 50 percent of their actual operating investment.
Zhuhai: Science, tech research institutions face credibility scrutiny
Entities and institutions conducting scientific and technology research in Zhuhai could be penalized if they’re found guilty of misdeeds involving their credibility under the city’s new ethics and credibility management measures.
The measures -- the first to be introduced in the southern Guangdong city -- officially standardize credibility matters in science and technology research.
Offenders would be disqualified from entering merit appraisals and denied participation in relevant technology research projects. The penalties could be slight or harsh, depending on the severity of their misconduct. However, institutions with a track record of untrustworthiness could redeem themselves by correcting their misdeeds.
Foshan: City aims to take the lead in promoting Lingnan culture
Foshan unveiled a three-year action plan (2022-2024) on Aug 12 to implement its strategic goal of making the city a leader in promoting Lingnan culture.
Under the plan, Foshan will implement 28 specific steps in eight areas, including popularizing the city’s image, elevating residents’ cultural standards, fostering the quality of cultural and literary productions, strengthening the cultural industry, and safeguarding the development of cultural reforms. Foshan will also push forward the first batch of 40 important projects.
The 28 specific measures highlight the importance of Foshan’s cultural brand in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Huizhou: Huizhou a ‘pilot city’ for strong national intellectual property
Huizhou has been picked as one of five “pilot cities” in Guangdong province for the construction of strong intellectual property in the country, according to a notice on the website of the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
Besides Huizhou, the other four “pilot cities are Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhongshan and Zhaoqing. Three other cities were chosen to be among the first batch of strong intellectual property “demonstration cities” -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan.
The pilot and demonstration exercise will run from July this year to June 2025.
Dongguan: 31 firms listed as nation's 'little giant' enterprises
A total of 31 companies in Dongguan have been included in the new fourth batch of the nation’s technologically advanced, “little giant” enterprises. The listings rank Dongguan third among cities in Guangdong -- behind Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
So far, Dongguan has cultivated 79 “little giant” enterprises at the national level, 198 at the provincial level, and 670 at the city level. These firms focus on strong innovation ability, high quality and efficiency, high market share, and mastery over core technologies.
Zhongshan: Cross-city human resources service chain gets strong backing
Zhongshan aims to adopt multiple measures to build a one-stop human resources service chain with Shenzhen, focusing on key areas like public services, talent cultivation, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as livelihood.
The city will follow Shenzhen’s example in the field of human resources and social security by streamlining approval procedures, enhancing information exchange, and launching more cross-city collaboration initiatives. Greater efforts will be made in building national-level training bases for high-skilled workers and establishing innovation and entrepreneurship parks. This would provide manpower for the integrated development of the eastern and western regions of the Pearl River Estuary.
Jiangmen: Taxation service center to serve overseas Chinese
Jiangmen has launched a taxation service center for overseas Chinese investing or doing business in the city, along with multiple supportive taxation measures.
The center operates on a “1+1+1” model, which includes a comprehensive service office, a legal office and a think tank service group, to help overseas Chinese concerning professional services, such as policy interpretation, tax services guidance, handling of complex problems, legal consultation and multilingual services.
Jiangmen has also started an online platform offering convenient “one-stop” services, covering communication between enterprises and the taxation authorities, and tax payment services.
Zhaoqing: Projects to drive high quality agricultural growth
A total of 104 agricultural projects, with total investments of 19.5 billion yuan, were signed in Zhaoqing on Aug 13, with the aim of boosting the city’s high-quality agricultural development.
The projects cover various sectors in the agricultural industry, such as the building of a modern agricultural industrial park, intensive processing of agricultural products, the prefabricated vegetable industry, agricultural tourism, and cold chain distribution of agricultural products.
The Zhaoqing authorities launched a three-year plan earlier this year for the high-quality development of modern agriculture. The newly projects, involving different companies, associations and production bases in rural areas, are also aimed at helping farmers to live a better life.
