At the heart of southern China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area 
(GBA) is Nansha, which also stands next to the two special administrative 
regions (SARs). A recently released Master Plan of Guangzhou Nansha on 
Deepening Comprehensive Cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao with 
Global Perspective was briefed at a press conference held by China's State 
Council Information Office on June 24.

Nansha has favorable geographical conditions, with broad development space and 
solid industrial foundation. Under the strong desire for cooperation and 
development, Nansha enjoys unique advantages in promoting all-round cooperation 
among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, said Guo Lanfeng, a member of the Leading 
Party Members Group of the National Development and Reform Commission of China.

Among China's most open regions, the economically dynamic GBA epitomizes how 
the country aligns its open economic system with the world on its path to a 
higher level of global monetary cooperation, driving greater GBA-led 
coordination among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao are Nansha, Qianhai in 
Shenzhen, and Hengqin in Zhuhai. The ambitious plan for Nansha marked another 
significant milestone in building the GBA with high quality. The district comes 
under the spotlight again after decades of development, according to Nansha 
District People's Government of Guangzhou City.

The plan stressed a need for Nansha to step up the building of industrial 
cooperation bases for sci-tech innovation, according to the press conference. 
Beyond that, the district was required to bolster Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao 
joint efforts for sci-tech innovation through the launch of major platforms for 
this purpose and to grow the high-tech industry by drawing high-caliber 
personnel with a global perspective. Moreover, the plan stated that to make 
Nansha a magnet for firms and talent in high technology, the Startup Zone-based 
enterprises in the industries encouraged by the state will be entitled to the 
corporate income tax at the reduced rate of 15%, and the individual income of 
Hong Kong and Macao citizens working in Nansha will be exempt from tax 
increases. Furthermore, Nansha unveiled a swathe of measures for promoting the 
development of the semiconductor and integrated circuit industries. As such, 
the pilot free trade area will offer support on nine fronts, ranging from 
launching major projects and financing businesses to moving up the integrated 
circuit industrial chain and subsidizing the uses of electricity in production 
to encouraging automotive-grade standards among companies.

Nansha is now home to over 400 artificial intelligence (AI) companies as it 
connects the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation 
Corridor to its counterpart linking Zhuhai with Macao. 

"The main reason we started a business in Nansha is that the district has 
created enough synergy among industries, universities, and research institutes 
for AI growth," said Cao Tiantian, co-founder of DeepMirror, a 
spatial-intelligence developer.

Over the recent years, a wealth of outstanding research institutes and advanced 
large-scale scientific facilities have grown in Nansha, aiming to spur growth 
in basic science and cutting-edge technology, among others. These newcomers 
will benefit from the strengths of the innovation and technology base in 
Qingsheng and the 99-square-kilometer Nansha Science City, which remains under 
construction. "With its recent momentum in sci-tech innovation, Nansha starts 
demonstrating strength as a late starter," noted Fu Zhengping, director of the 
Institute of Free Trade Zones, Sun Yat-sen University.

A magnet of top global tech companies, Silicon Valley, enjoys much more 
significant influence than the San Francisco Bay Area. Global cities aspire to 
become its strongest rival. In Nansha, the uplifting silver lining is that 
youth from across the world find it an ideal place to promote innovation and 
entrepreneurship.

Founded in 2017, TIMETABLE, a Nansha-based business incubator for youth from 
the GBA, has helped more than 40 Hong Kong and Macao startups innovate and 
develop. It is designed to offer incubation services to grow fields such as 
digital technology and entertainment and new types of consumption and retail.

"For those aspiring to start a business, an opportune time and an enabling 
climate can't be more important," said TIMETABLE's founder Wu Jiahui, "the 
technology-forward GBA provides tremendous market opportunities and sees an 
unfettered flow of production factors beyond a full range of supporting 
entrepreneurial services and an unmatched business environment that Nansha has 
to offer. All this makes the district a good choice for Hong Kong and Macao 
entrepreneurs."

Besides development opportunities, a modernized urban environment also holds 
the key to retaining talent. As an integral component of a city's "soft power", 
the smart city campaign puts the GBA on a faster growth track. And Nansha is 
showing its bright side as people's livelihoods are being empowered by 
innovative technologies, ranging from big data to cloud computing. 

According to a leader for Nansha's smart city program, the district is moving 
toward a more caring and intelligent destination. That means it will lay the 
solid groundwork for the perception of universal urban data and build a hub for 
all smart operations. In so doing, an inclusive system designed to make 
education, healthcare, and elderly care services more tech-driven and 
accessible is set to be in place, and services to Hong Kong and Macao citizens, 
as well as professionals from the rest of the world, will be further modernized.

Source: Nansha District People's Government of Guangzhou City