Hengqin zone seeks to turn cross-border integration into a launchpad for young residents

[Photo: Renato Marques]

The Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin is giving Macau entrepreneurs lower-cost space, policy support and easier cross-border access as authorities seek to turn the five-year-old project into a platform for Macau’s economic diversification.

The zone, established in 2021 and marking its fifth anniversary this year, has grown into a base for thousands of Macau-backed companies, particularly in business services, wholesale and retail, and scientific and technical services. By the end of August, 8,224 Macau-funded enterprises were registered in Hengqin, accounting for 16% of all businesses in the zone and representing an increase of more than 77% since its establishment, according to media reports.

The zone has become a testing ground for Macau businesses looking to expand without the higher costs and land constraints of the city.

For entrepreneurs, the appeal is a combination of lower initial costs, larger premises and access to policy support. Hengqin’s preferential framework includes a 15% corporate income tax rate for eligible industrial companies, while qualifying high-end and urgently needed professionals can have their individual income tax rate capped at 15%.

The Hengqin zone’s expansion also reflects a wider effort to integrate Macau more closely with Hengqin through simplified customs arrangements, government services and industry clusters.

Vincent Lam, executive director of the Hengqin Pien Tze Huang Museum, said he was drawn to Hengqin shortly after the cooperation zone was created because it offered room to develop his traditional Chinese medicine business.

Lam revealed that his company’s office has expanded from 400 square meters to nearly 2,000 square meters. “If we are here in Hengqin, it can be a kind of experimental field, or a paradise, where we can try to turn the ideas we have envisioned into reality and test whether they work,” Lam said in his remarks to the local broadcaster, TDM.

Regarding daily cross-border life in the cooperation zone, authorities launched the Hengqin-Macau Cross-Border Student Shuttle in September 2025. The service adopts an “on-board inspection, no-disembarkation clearance” model designed to reduce commuting time for students traveling between the two jurisdictions.

The service is available to pupils who commute between Hengqin and Macau from Primary Four through Year Three of secondary school.

CE reviews Hengqin development at sixth meeting

Chief Executive (CE) Sam Ho Fai presided over the sixth meeting of the Leading Group for Promoting the Development of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone recently at the government headquarters, where officials discussed arrangements for advancing the zone’s development.

During the meeting, the CE conveyed the spirit of a recent special meeting on advancing the development of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone and outlined arrangements for implementing the relevant work requirements.

The arrangements are intended to ensure the zone’s development aligns with broader policy objectives and brings benefits to Macau and Guangdong.

Ng Wai Han, Secretary for Economy and Finance and director of the Hengqin Cooperation Zone Executive Committee, was also present at the meeting.

The Cooperation Zone, established as a key platform for diversifying Macau’s economy and fostering regional integration, remains a major focus of the government’s development agenda.

No further details on the specific measures discussed at the meeting were disclosed.

Nadia Shaw & Ricaela Diputado