Hengqin has achieved considerable outcomes in industrial development, Guangdong-Macao integration, ensuring people's wellbeing, and risk prevention since September 2021, it was announced during an April 2 conference of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin Working Committee of the CPC Guangdong Committee.

Regional GDP of the cooperation zone hit 45.46 billion yuan ($7.14 billion) in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 8.5 percent. Its general public budget revenue came in at 10.87 billion yuan ($1.7 billion), topping 10 billion yuan for the first time and increasing by 14.3 percent year-on-year.

By the end of December 2021, Hengqin was home to 56,176 business entities, including 4,761 Macao-funded ones with combined registered capital of 144.61 billion yuan ($22.7 billion). The number of Macao residents registered to live on the island was 3,621.

The zone has been promoting the construction of major projects to speed up the agglomeration of innovative resources. They include the Guangdong Institute of Intelligence Science and Technology, Phase III of the Hengqin Advanced Intelligent Computing Platform, and Hengqin R&D Center for Hydrogen Gas Turbines. The Guangdong-Macao Semiconductor Fund and Guangdong Wuyuefeng Integrated Circuit Equity Investment Fund were also launched in December 2021.

A wide view of Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin [Photo by Zeng Yao / Zhuhai Daily]

Thirteen key projects -- including ones involving China Electronics Corporation and China Taiping Insurance -- signed up to settle in the cooperation zone last year. In addition to pilot measures for foreign-invested equity-based enterprises, measures were implemented to support companies issuing corporate bonds in Macao. To date, 71 licensed financial institutions have been established in Hengqin, which handle 230 billion yuan ($36.13 billion).

For international top-notch, high-caliber talents, and talents in short supply working in Hengqin, the portion of their individual income tax that exceeds 15 percent can be exempted.

The cooperation zone's Construction Implementation Plan (2021-24) was formulated last year, while the Overall Task List and Near-Term Key Task List were drawn up to clarify its construction timetable, development road map, and responsibilities.

To inject more impetus into Hengqin's development, 10 measures were launched to reduce the comprehensive cost of local enterprises. Furthermore, the business environment has been constantly improved as 3,655 items of government affairs can be handled online, while a "cross-border handling" work mechanism was piloted for commercial registration. To date, over 10,000 technology-based enterprises have settled in the zone.

In addition, the zone has been improving the livelihood, employment, and entrepreneurship environment for Macao residents, its public services, and advanced connectivity in infrastructure with Macao. By now, five commuter lines have been opened between Hengqin and Macao, offering 13 round trips per day.

By the end of 2021, 503 Macao residents were registered for employment in the zone, up 114 percent year-on-year. A total of 63 Hong Kong and Macao enterprises and 324 professionals obtained cross-boundary qualifications for practice in Hengqin and 136 new Macao projects were incubated.

The cooperation zone also cooperated with the General Union of Neighborhood Associations of Macao to make it more convenient for Macao residents to participate in Zhuhai's social insurance.

By the end of 2021, it had provided with social insurance handling and consulting services for more than 110,000 Macao residents.