Guangdong poised as base for HK, Macao youths' innovation, business startups

South China's Guangdong province, window of China's reform and opening up, is expected to become a new base for innovation and business startups for young people from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions in the coming years.

According to The Implementation Plan of Strengthening Construction of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bases for Youth from Hong Kong and Macao, the pilot free trade zones of Nansha in Guangzhou, Qianhai in Shenzhen and Hengqin in Zhuhai will become the three new bases for youth from Hong Kong and Macao to start their businesses and scientific innovations by 2020.

The innovation and entrepreneurship bases will be able to annually attract many youth from the two Chinese SARs to settle down for innovation and starting an undertaking, according to the implementation plan, which was revealed by Guangdong provincial government on its official website earlier this week.

And at least one such base will be established in every nine cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area before 2025, according to the implementation plan.

The nine Greater Bay cities in Guangdong province include Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, Shenzhen and Zhuhai special economic zones, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing.

To this end, Guangdong provincial government will introduce more preferential policies in housing, education, employment, medical insurance and talent training and further lower its thresholds for youth from Hong Kong and Macao to start their business in the prosperous province, one of the country's economic powerhouses, in the months ahead, according to the implementation plan.

Meanwhile the plan encourages further expansion of exchanges and cooperation between Guangdong youth and their Hong Kong and Macao counterparts in the months ahead.

The provincial government would build more platforms and open more channels to help enhance such exchanges and cooperation, according to the plan.