CRI听力:Shenzhen Qianhai: A Magnet for Investors

As Shanghai FTZ celebrating its 1st anniversary, Shenzhen Qianhai, another special economic zone in China, has surpassed the number of firms established in the Shanghai FTZ.

Some 14,000 firms have been established in Qianhai Shenzhen, of which over 50 enterprises are ranked in the world's top 500.

Luo Wen has more:

Located at the west of Shekou Peninsula, Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone is just half an hour's drive away from downtown Hong Kong.

As a special economic zone intended to boost cooperation between mainland and Hong Kong, Qianhai is designed to provide support to Hong Kong as an offshore RMB settlement center.

He Longde, the Director of the Finance Division of the Authority of Qianhai Zone, explains.

"The definition of "cross border RMB borrowing" is that any registered enterprise in Qianhai can directly borrow RMB from Hongkong banks with RMB business. Qianhai is a pioneer in this field. We can repatriate RMB from Hongkong which is the biggest offshore RMB center. That makes foreign companies more willing to hold RMB since now they are not only able to trade but also lend to mainland companies."

Qianhai signed its first order on "cross border RMB borrowing" at the end of last year.

And a year later, this policy also extended to the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, Suzhou's Industrial zone, and Tianjin's eco-industrial zone.

Qianhai supports the development of innovative financial instruments, and financial products that support the development of the real economy.

He Longde talks more about QFLP as a financial innovative measure in Qianhai.

"QFLP is Qualified Foreign Limited Partner, which means a foreign investor can exchange their foreign capital for Chinese currencies, and then invest in Chinese private equity and venture capital after going through both qualification approval and supervision procedure for foreign capital. The QFLP license is expected to shorten regulatory approval processes and mitigates issues of foreign capital convertibility. The free settlement of the foreign exchange makes it more convenient for foreign capital to flow from Hongkong to the Chinese mainland."

Qianhai special economic zone has streamlined procedures for business registration for both domestic and foreign firms.

Patrick Li, a staffer at a Hongkong corporation, is helping his company handle some financial-related procedures in Qianhai.

He explains why the special economic zone attracts so many investors.

"We decided to set up a company here because it is close to Hongkong. And we can also enjoy some preferential tax policies. It also has a one-stop service and we don't need to go through many procedures."

Director He adds Qianhai's financial services aims to complement that of Hongkong's, in a conscious effort to avoid direct competition and create a win-win situation.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen