The Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone on Hengqin Island will unleash boundless opportunities for the development of Macao, as well as injecting momentum into the integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, officials and entrepreneurs said on Tuesday.

The remarks were made during a meeting with some 100 journalists from the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions who’re on a weeklong tour of the Greater Bay Area to study the region’s economic progress and future potential.

After visiting Shenzhen and the two SARs in the past few days, the media representatives arrived in Zhuhai on the final leg of their trip to be briefed on the latest developments in the Hengqin cooperation zone, and the achievements of young entrepreneurs.

Nie Xinping, deputy director of the Executive Committee of the Hengqin zone, said the level of integrated development between Hengqin and Macao has been rising steadily. At present, there are more than 20,000 Macao residents living or working in the area, with over 6,000 Macao-linked companies having been established.

According to Nie, the number of people leaving and entering Hengqin Port, which links the SAR with the cooperation zone, has grown significantly. Macao residents account for a quarter of the total number of commuters, with Macao vehicles accounting for a third of the total number of vehicles using the checkpoint.  

More than one-third of the members of the zone’s Executive Committee are from Macao, reflecting increased cooperation between Guangdong province and the SAR.

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Nie said Hengqin will be able to offer vast opportunities for Macao, strengthening cooperation between Guangdong and the city and supporting the young people in education, science and technology innovation, logistics and cross-boundary e-commerce.

In his view, Guangdong and Macao can jointly introduce top-tier academic disciplines in the zone and facilitate academic exchanges domestically and internationally.

Macao and Hengqin can also be a platform for the nation’s higher level of openness, leveraging multilanguage skills to provide business services to Portuguese-speaking and Latin American nations.

Hengqin is also encouraging young professionals in the Greater Bay Area to explore the zone's opportunities. The top prize in last year’s China (Hengqin) Scientific and Technological Entrepreneurship Competition reached 100 million yuan ($13.7 million). These incentives have attracted prestigious Macao universities, like the University of Macau and the Macau University of Science and Technology, to engage in industry-academia-research transformation projects on Hengqin, Nie said.

Many entrepreneurs have been focusing on cross-boundary e-commerce in the Hengqin zone that has two e-commerce industrial parks and more than 100 related companies. In the first quarter this year, the total import and export value of cross-boundary e-commerce in the zone had surged by over 90-percent.

Tom Hoi is among Macao’s pioneering entrepreneurs who’ve delved into cross-boundary e-commerce. After completing his tertiary education in the United States, he decided to pursue the opportunities Hengqin offers.

He says the environment in the 11-city cluster Greater Bay Area bears a striking resemblance to those of the bay areas in the US, highlighting the diverse pool of talent from Macao and Guangdong attracted by Hengqin’s supportive policies.

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He believes Hengqin could be an ideal stage for people from various backgrounds to pursue their careers, as the zone can also access the industrial advantages of other cities in the Greater Bay Area.

Mio Weng-ioi – a Macao resident and dermatologist who works for a Hengqin medical firm that has launched its products in the mainland and Southeast Asian markets – said he has benefited from deeper integration between the SAR and the zone.

With convenient transportation and seamless clearance at the checkpoints, Mio, who has to travel frequently between Macao and Hengqin, is able to see patients in the morning and attend meetings in Macao in the afternoon, or even make three or four trips a day. 

Contact the writer at amberwu@chinadailyhk.com