Hong Kong and foreign businessmen can set up enterprises across the border without a mainland partner for the first time, under a pilot scheme unveiled yesterday.
The new rules initially apply to Lowu and are likely to be extended to other areas of Shenzhen. It is the first place where the mainland's joint-venture policy has been waived.
Liu Fan, the deputy director of the registration branch of the Shenzhen Bureau of Industry and Commerce, told a seminar in Hong Kong yesterday that any foreign investor - including those from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan - could register with the city to set up business on the mainland side of Lowu, which straddles the border.
The scheme was implemented recently, she told the seminar on Shenzhen investment policies.
'We are trying to be open-minded. We hope that it will be able to lure more foreign investments and thus create an investment-friendly environment,' Ms Liu said after the seminar.
The change means any foreign businessman who has either purchased commercial property in mainland Lowu or has leased premises for more than a year will be eligible for solo business registration and enjoy local tax benefits. Flexibility to the joint-venture law has previously been applied by individual provinces and cities, according to the scale of investment.
