Tan Yifan
cicitan2011@gmail.com
STARTUP entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises in Qianhai will have more chances to go overseas, said Hu Weiping, secretary-general of the China Overseas Investment Fair, yesterday in Qianhai.
Hu announced at the first anniversary of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone Qianhai and Shekou Area of Shenzhen (Qianhai-Shekou FTZ) that the China Overseas Investment Fair will from now on be held in the zone after seven years in Beijing.
“In the past the companies that we served were big State-owned ones and they gained preferential polices through the fair. But now we want to help more private enterprises and those small and medium-sized enterprises,” Hu said.
“Those companies can be found more easily in Shenzhen, especially Qianhai. With supporting polices, the help of the fair and the companies’ advantages, they can grow faster and find better international cooperation.”
A youth entrepreneurship competition will also be held in Qianhai.
Mao Zhirong, managing director of Hong Kong Exchange and Cleaning Ltd., said his institution has confidence in a mainland commodity spot trading platform being set up in Qianhai.
Mao said Qianhai has resources from both the mainland and Hong Kong and “surely will make influence global.”
He said the initiative is a landmark for the Chinese financial sector and can facilitate local enterprises in carrying out related trading and financing.
Help for young entrepreneurs will also be provided in the zone. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovative and Entrepreneurship Competition was announced yesterday.
“We will encourage participants to understand the rules and the law of the mainland and introduce mentors to them. The entrepreneurs need to know the way of conducting business here and spend more time here [in Qianhai] to be more engaged,” said Fung Dun-mi, deputy executive director of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups.
“Qianhai is the best place for innovation in China, because it has a good environment and the best policy,” said Peter Fuhrman, the Shenzhen-based chairman and chief executive officer of China First Capital, which is trying to register in Qianhai.
“Although transportation is still under construction, supporting policies haven’t been implemented, and the rising price of real-estate has brought a big challenge to entrepreneurs, I still think that Qianhai has potential for business. The policies to solve those problems must be made,” he said.
Mao said the launch time of the trading platform is still under discussion.