Hengqin incubation facility operator mulls investments on the island

The operator of a business incubation facility on Hengqin Island enticed members of the audience to invest in the island at a commercial event, dubbing it a “now or never” opportunity.

David Cheang, head of AHA HK & Macau Youth Incubation Center, presented yesterday his impressions of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin to business personnel at a recent breakfast briefing hosted by the France Macau Chamber of Commerce.

Cheang hinted at the potential and prosperity of the island several times during his 45-minute presentation on the zone, where he operates a business facility.

He highlighted the identifying advantage of Hengqin, as disclosed by the government previously, as the access to websites and web services such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp, currently categorized in other parts of China as illegal. This could be very appealing to an audience of which nearly half were non-Chinese.

Another advantage of the island, according to the business facility operator, is its hybrid position. It is a piece of land under Chinese law but levying Macau tax levels.

“The plan for building the Zone has indicated that by 2024 the regulations and mechanisms will be [made similar] to those in Macau,” Cheang pointed out. “The authorities in Hengqin will make more policies to synchronise the system with Macau’s.”

“I think Hengqin will be a very good location to do trading business,” he insisted.

Another question is whether these policies on Hengqin will affect Macau’s economy. With such a preferential system, location, workforce and administration, certain members of the audience expressed anxiety that Hengqin will overtake Macau, instead of act in a collaborative and complementary position with Macau.

“From a macroeconomic perspective, Hengqin’s GDP will be shared with Macau,” Cheang said. “My opinion is whether entrepreneurs in Macau should consider entering Hengqin now, establishing early channels for trades.”

Taxation is among the further reasons that the business operator has a good outlook over Hengqin commercially.

“In the future, if we export local products to Hengqin, the practice will be free from taxation,” he said. “In this case, I think we [should] relocate certain procedures, productions or operations to Hengqin in order to lower our costs.”

He pointed out that produce transported from other parts of mainland China to Hengqin will technically be considered domestic movement, which will be very cost-efficient.

Moreover, as the mainland workforce in Hengqin will be considered a local workforce, in contrast to a non-resident workforce in Macau requiring more legal procedures, greater development can be expected in certain sectors.

“At the end of the day, these factors will help lower entrepreneurs’ costs,” he concluded.

On the question of how foreign and mainland financial investors can coexist on Hengqin, Cheang believes there are policies to facilitate this.

“I think Hengqin has changed policies to allow foreign investors to invest in Hengqin, including financial institutions,” he said, citing Macau’s Luso International Bank as example.

“[The bank] restructured their shares to allow them to develop in [the] mainland,” he explained. “For bond issuance, I think there will be free capital flow so as to facilitate the Macau Stock Exchange to be located on Hengqin.”

“Once [synchronization with Macau] is achieved, I think Hengqin will become internationally recognized,” Cheang added. “The recognition of this position will be gradual.”