Hong Kong free-trade zone will attract high-end industries, says Guangdong governor
Pact would also bringmore foreign investment to the region, Zhu Xiaodan says
A proposed free-trade zone covering Hong Kong, Macau, and parts of Guangdong may focus on services, finance and commerce, the visiting provincial governor said yesterday.
Zhu Xiaodan also sought to placate locals who blame the individual visitor scheme for mainlanders for pushing up prices and causing disturbances.
Zhu, who led a delegation to Hong Kong, revealed details of the free-trade proposal ahead of the launch of the Shanghai free-trade zone - the first on the mainland - late this month.
"The proposed zone will build on Hong Kong's prominent role and advantages in the global economy … and attract more high-end service industries to the region," he said.
He confirmed that the plan was to bundle Hong Kong and Macau with three special development zones in Guangdong - Qianhai in Shenzhen, Hengqin in Zhuhai and Nansha in Guangzhou - pending approval from Beijing.
That would make it more than 1,000 square kilometres, much bigger than Shanghai's 28.78 square-kilometre development, mainland media have reported.
Zhu suggested making services a priority. "The free-trade zone that we are thinking of would touch on service trade liberalisation, more convenient investment, commodity trade liberalisation, financial innovation and co-operation, as well as managerial and institutional innovations," he said, indicating possible measures to attract Hong Kong and foreign investment.