Financial services in the Greater Bay Area are more convenient for traveling from north to south
The "1-hour living circle" is closer, and cross-border investment and financing are increasingly popular
"It's so convenient! After subscribing at the real estate sales center, I can remit money directly back to Macau. After Bank of China completes the relevant procedures, the funds can be transferred to the developer's account on the same day. I can live in the new house of my choice faster!" In mid-March, in the "Macau New Home" At the site of the Neighborhood project, Ms. Li, a Macau resident, was excited to have a new home in Hengqin soon.
This is due to the implementation of relevant policies in the "Hengqin Financial 30". "Macau New Neighborhood" has become the first real estate in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone to pilot the "settlement first and then supplement" facilitation policy. The house purchase process for Macau residents has greatly improved. With the shortening of housing prices, "crossing the Haojiang River to live in peace" has become a new choice for more Macau residents.
With the continuous implementation of various financial policies and measures in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the "one-hour living circle" in the Greater Bay Area has become closer, cross-border investment and financing have become more convenient, and residents' investment and financial management "baskets" have become richer.
Residents of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao enjoy life in the Bay Area
On the weekend in March, the grass grows and the orioles fly, and the spring scenery is just right. At the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, Mr. Chen, a Hong Kong resident, and his family were attracted by the naive polar bears and couldn't leave. He said: "We drove here from the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge for the weekend. We also planned to take the children to see spaceships, eat Hengqin oysters, and enjoy farm entertainment. , weekend life is more colorful.”
With the implementation of various financial policies and measures in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, cross-border "gold content" is getting higher and higher, and residents of Hong Kong and Macao can enjoy life in the Bay Area through convenient and considerate financial services.
In 2023, there will be more than 9.927 million Hong Kong and Macao residents entering and exiting the mainland via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, accounting for nearly 61% of the total inbound and outbound passenger flow, setting a new high in history. The person in charge of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Border Inspection Station observed that since this year, the southbound passenger flow has resumed, and the "northbound" passenger flow has become more prosperous, and the "port fever" phenomenon is obvious. "Especially during weekends and public holidays, the single-day passenger flow record at the port has been refreshed many times, reaching a maximum of 115,000 passengers in a single day, setting a new record since the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge more than five years ago."
Behind this, cross-border auto insurance's "equivalence first recognition" provides protection for motor vehicle travel in Hong Kong and Macao. Through the "equivalent first recognition" policy, Hong Kong and Macao motor vehicles entering and exiting the mainland through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Zhuhai Highway Port and only driving within the administrative area of Guangdong Province will be insured with Hong Kong and Macao respectively for the scope of liability, insurance amount, etc. An insurance policy covering the Mainland Compulsory Traffic Insurance is deemed to have been insured against the Mainland Compulsory Traffic Insurance. Last year, more than 30,000 Hong Kong and Macao motor vehicles enjoyed the convenience of the "first recognition of equivalence" policy for cross-border auto insurance.
With the optimization of financial services in "hotspot areas for Hong Kong people's consumption", Hong Kong people are more enthusiastic about "going north" for consumption, and the cross-border consumption boom during the Spring Festival continues. In Luohu, Shenzhen and other places, every weekend, there is a bustle of Hong Kong tourists visiting imported supermarkets, eating hot pot, and buying milk tea.
Data shows that the use of WeChat Hong Kong Wallet and the Hong Kong and Macau version of "Cloud QuickPass" in the mainland has benefited more than 1.2191 million Hong Kong and Macau users, and the cumulative transaction amount has exceeded 4.825 billion yuan; the cash cross-border payment model has been continuously improved, through optimizing bank branches for cash withdrawals, issuing coin purses and other conveniences Domestic cash consumption by Hong Kong residents.
"In the past, when traveling to Hong Kong and Macao for business or tourism, you had to change a lot of change and coins first, and keep them in your pockets in order to travel by bus. Now, with your mobile phone in hand, you can travel across the border in the Greater Bay Area." said Mr. Li, a Guangzhou resident.
At present, in various cross-border transportation scenarios such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-speed Railway, Shenzhen-Hong Kong cross-border buses, and cross-border ferries, including Hong Kong Longyun Bus, New City Bus, as well as Macau light rail, taxis and other means of transportation, Residents can recharge Yangchengtong, Shenzhentong, Hong Kong Octopus and other electronic transportation cards through UnionPay mobile QuickPass, allowing them to take all kinds of public transportation without any barriers.
Data from the Guangdong Branch of the People's Bank of China shows that as of the end of 2023, the number of wallet transactions in five Hong Kong and Macao regions, including the Hong Kong and Macao version of "Cloud Quick Pass", reached 49.57 million, and a total of 390,000 mainland bank accounts have been opened for Hong Kong and Macao residents through remote agent witnessing. .
“Going north” to start a business and go to Hong Kong for financing
Running in both directions
Not long ago, Eugene Harbor, founder of Gangshun (Shenzhen) International Trade Co., Ltd. and Hong Kong youth, was approved for a cross-border loan. This is a RMB 2 million credit loan from the Macau Branch of Bank of Communications.
In August last year, the "Qianhai Port Enterprise Loans" Business Operation Guidelines were issued, proposing to "support eligible Hong Kong-funded small and micro enterprises in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone to obtain RMB loans from overseas banks within a limit of RMB 5 million." The implementation of the policy will allow some Hong Kong-funded small and micro enterprises that do not meet the conditions for borrowing foreign debt due to insufficient net assets to successfully obtain overseas bank funds, allowing Hong Kong youth to cross the Shenzhen River to start their own businesses with greater confidence and enthusiasm.
In line with the entrepreneurial enthusiasm for "going north", the number of mainland companies seeking to list in Hong Kong has continued to increase since the beginning of this year. PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that 80 companies will be listed in Hong Kong in 2024, and the total IPO financing of companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange throughout the year will exceed HK$100 billion. As of the end of 2023, a total of 288 Guangdong companies have been listed in Hong Kong.
In February this year, the "two-way rush" of science and technology finance between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao ushered in more policy support. Guangdong issued the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the In-depth Integration of Science and Technology and Finance to Support the Innovation and Development of Science and Technology Enterprises", proposing to rely on major cooperation platforms in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area such as Hengqin, Qianhai, Nansha, and Hetao to promote the complementarity of science and technology and finance between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. ,interconnection. At the same time, support high-tech enterprises, specialized new enterprises, and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises to independently borrow foreign debt within the quota specified in the cross-border financing facilitation pilot to further meet the cross-border financing needs of technology-based enterprises with small net assets.
According to Shen Qiang, general manager of the business development department of Guangdong Tuosi Software Science Park Co., Ltd. and deputy secretary-general of the Guangdong Science and Technology Finance Promotion Association, an active financial market, smooth financing channels and a good financial environment are the key factors for technological innovation and high economic quality. important guarantee for development. The relevant person in charge of the General Office of the People's Government of Guangdong Province said that the implementation of these measures will help further promote the in-depth integration of technology and finance and provide strong support for the innovative development of technology-based enterprises.
More diverse cross-border financial investment options
"RMB investment products with low risk, preferential rates, and a minimum investment of 1 yuan are very popular." On March 1, Mr. Zhang, a Macau resident who started a business in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, successfully invested in the first large-scale investment project. He happily shared the cross-border RMB public offering financial products in the Bay Area.
This is the first time Bank of China has successfully issued a cross-border RMB public offering wealth management product in the Greater Bay Area. It uses the Guangdong region's characteristic wealth management products to connect the Macau region's offshore RMB characteristics assets to open up onshore and offshore cross-border investments. It was successfully raised on the first day of sale. .
With the launch of version 2.0 of the "Cross-border Financial Management Connect" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, "southern financial management" has become a new hot word among financial consumers in the Greater Bay Area. Annualized interest rates for deposits as high as 10%, new customer gifts for newly opened accounts, and cash rebates for depositing new funds... When visiting major bank outlets in Guangdong, the reporter found that the "Cross-border Wealth Management Connect" pilot program participated in bank preferential activities New products appear frequently, attracting investors to open accounts and purchase cross-border financial products.
A relevant person in charge of DBS Bank said that "Cross-border Wealth Management Connect" has been regarded by investors in the Greater Bay Area as a convenient and reliable cross-border investment channel that can achieve diversified asset allocation. The number of account openings and investment scale have recently increased significantly. growing. "Many mainland customers want to get involved in global investment products to diversify their asset portfolios. At the same time, amid market volatility and high interest rates, mainland customers have increased demand for high-interest time deposits or fixed income financial products."
The relevant person in charge of the Hang Seng China Cross-border Wealth Management Connect business said that the number of customers making account opening appointments has been on the rise recently, and the service hotline has also received a significant increase in related inquiries. The single product subscription amount of Northbound Connect customers has further increased compared with before the implementation of the new policy. "Northbound Trading customers have strong interest in mainland public securities investment funds; Southbound Trading customers have allocated funds, bonds and deposit products. In the past month, Hang Seng Southbound Trading/Northbound Trading cross-border remittance volume increased by nearly 10% compared with the same period last year. 3 times." said the person in charge. (Nanfang Daily)