The GDP of the Hengqin Free Trade Zone has risen more than threefold from 12.68 billion yuan ($1.95 billion) to 40.7 billion yuan ($6.27 billion) since being established on April 23, 2015 to boost Macao's moderate economic diversification.

The area administration has instituted 622 reform innovation measures including: three Best Practices of National Pilot FTZs, 44 Institutional Innovation Cases of Guangdong FTZs, 29 Best Cases in Celebration of Guangdong FTZ Anniversary, 11 promoted nationwide, and 63 cited throughout the province. The Hengqin business environment ranks 26th globally with the implementation of administrative approval reforms on 526 enterprise-related affairs. 

Hengqin took the lead in issuing China's first provisional arbitration rules, allowing online cross-border tax payments and administrative affairs processing, and cross-border practice of Hong Kong and Macao professionals. To date, 30 Macao and 17 Hong Kong enterprises in the construction sector have been registered for cross-border practice in Hengqin, as have 125 Macao and 93 Hong Kong professionals.

In addition, the FTZ has also been exploring social insurance integration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, construction of Hengqin-Macao Stores with Honest Operation, development of an online financial court, and facilitation of real estate registration.

Hengqin FTZ [Photo by Li Jianshu / Guanhai App]

Today Hengqin is home to more than 4,000 Macao-funded enterprises with registered capital of 130 billion yuan ($20 billion). There were 1,395 newly settled Macao-funded enterprises in 2020, up 67.47 percent from 2019.

Promoting Macao's industrial diversification are the Hengqin Headquarters Building, International Financial Center, International Commercial Center, and Traditional Chinese Medicine Science & Technology Industrial Park of Cooperation Between Guangdong & Macao. In addition, Macao-Hengqin Youth Entrepreneurship Valley (Inno Valley HQ) has incubated more than 300 Macao entrepreneurship projects.

Furthermore, the first phase of the Hengqin Advanced Intelligent Computing Center serves hundreds of Zhuhai and Macao sci-tech enterprises, universities, and R&D institutions with a domestically leading computing power of up to 1.16 exa-operations per second. Four Macao State Key Laboratories have branches in Hengqin.

In terms of convenience, the "Joint Inspection & One-time Release" mode of the new Hengqin Checkpoint has cut passenger customs clearance down to 20 seconds. The exit-entry quota of Macao single-plate vehicles increased to 10,000 with the period of eligibility being extended to one year. Construction of Macao New Neighborhood is underway to offer Macao people the livelihood facilities and public services they are accustomed to.

By the end of 2020, more than 1,000 Macao residents were covered by Hengqin medical insurance. Hengqin hospitals had offered medical services to 58,000 people, and Hengqin Comprehensive Service Center set by the General Union of Neighborhood Associations of Macao had served more than 20,000 residents.