SHENZHEN’S economic planner has worked out a development plan for a new Shenzhen-Hong Kong S&T Innovation Special Cooperation Zone, which will include the Lok Ma Chau Loop Area administered by Hong Kong. According to the plan for 2018 to 2035 made by the city’s development and reform commission, the core area of the zone will occupy 4 square kilometers, including 3 square kilometers in Shenzhen and 1 square kilometer in Hong Kong. The Shenzhen side will encompass Block C of the Loop Area and Futian Bonded Zone, while Block A of the Loop, also known as Lok Ma Chau Loop Area, constitutes the Hong Kong side. The planning of Block A will be conducted by the Hong Kong SAR Government in light of bilateral agreements. Microelectronics, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and new materials will be pillar industries of the zone. At a meeting with the city’s political advisers Sept. 26, Gao Shengyuan, head of the Futian District Government, said the plan will be submitted for review at the second meeting of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Leading Group in October. “The cooperation zone will be the second important cooperation platform between Shenzhen and Hong Kong following Qianhai. We have planned to build a service center covering 2,400 square meters in the Futian Bonded Zone,” Gao said. The planning of the zone, if approved by the Central Government and the Hong Kong government, will expand the cooperation between Shenzhen and the special administrative region in developing the Lok Ma Chau Loop Area, which had been considered for years. The two sides signed an MOU on jointly developing the Loop in January 2017. Shenzhen has set up a city-level leading group and four professional teams for the project. At the Sept. 26 meeting, Shenzhen’s political advisers put forward a research report — the result of a six-month investigation — containing 21 suggestions. The suggestions include establishing joint labs, enterprise research labs, IPR centers, innovation bases, a data center and a 5G pilot center. The report also calls for lower personal income tax for employees and executives working at the Shenzhen-developed industrial parks in the Loop area. The proposed rate is 15 percent, the same as the Hong Kong individual income tax rate but much lower than the rates on the Chinese mainland. The suggestions also include easier border crossing, featuring facial-recognition technology, for people working in the zone. (SD News) | 