April 21st marks the 3rd anniversary of the establishment of the Nansha Free Trade Zone (FTZ). And since the Guangzhou 2017-2035 Plan emphasizes Nansha’s position as a platform for major cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the district's development has been under the media spotlight.
The Guangzhou Metro Line 4 which links Nansha with other districts in the city[Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
According to Nansha’s government, the district’s development has accelerated over the past three years. Its GDP exceeded 139 billion yuan in 2017 with an annual growth rate of 12.5%. Its fixed asset investment and contracted foreign investment both grew rapidly at 29.9% and 45.27%.
By the end of March, 43,961 enterprises had been newly registered in Nansha, 347 of them putting up over 100 million yuan in capital. 99 projects are backed by Fortune 500 companies and 103 corporate headquarters have been established in Nansha.
These rising numbers indicate Nansha’s business environment is improving and becoming ever more attractive. Since launching in 2015, Nansha FTZ has become more connected by a metro line, expressways and shipping routes.
In addition, the government has put forward policies and measures to facilitate its commercial services, customs service and talent recruitment etc. During the 3rd anniversary, Nansha FTZ organized a series of events to showcase its latest development:
Nansha facilitates international arbitration for an open and legalized business environment
Nansha FTZ is Guangzhou’s only gateway to the ocean, and a bridge to Hong Kong and Macao. Since the district has allowed various international economic activities, such as shipping logistics and international trade, demand for professional legal services and diversified solution management for international disputes is on the up.
The international commercial arbitration meeting in Nansha on April 20thr. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
According to Nansha court, 25.37% of the cases it accepted last year involved foreign interests. Targeting this demand, an international commercial arbitration meeting was held in Nansha on April 20th.
More than 400 legal experts and scholars from China and countries as the U.K., Switzerland and Germany brainstormed methods to further build a legal business environment in Nansha, and discussed a new blueprint for the construction of an international shipping center.
The international commercial arbitration meeting was held in Nansha on April 20. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
Chen Zhongqian, Chairman of the China Nansha International Arbitration Center (NSIAC), gave an introduction to the NSIAC and said it had run three trial models of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Australia synchronously to break the gap between different legal systems and judicial procedures.
“The parties involved in foreign cases can choose their own familiar language and trial mode for arbitration, which greatly promotes the cooperation and development of the three regions,” said Chen Zhongqian.
Wang Zezuo, Hong Kong barrister, echoed the idea that Nansha could cooperate more with Hong Kong in terms of arbitration as Hong Kong has rich experience in both maritime and ad hoc arbitration.
“As Nansha is building itself as an international shipping center, it will also become an important maritime arbitration center in the future,” said Wang, “thus, cooperation between Nansha and Hong Kong will become a win-win situation and offer necessary legal services for Chinese enterprises going global.”
In addition, overseas legal experts including Michael.E.Schneider, Honorary Chairman of Swiss Arbitration Association, Stephen Hofmeyr, 7KBW/ Barrister, and Ian Gaunt, Chairman of London Maritime Arbitration Association, also gave presentation during the meeting, and shared their experiences in dealing with cases involving Chinese and Belt and Road Parties.
Nansha offers up to 10 million RMB to attract global talent
Nansha’s rapid development also contributes to its great demand for talent, especially in the fields of artificial intelligence, modern services, shipping and logistics.
On the morning of April 18th, Nansha FTZ held a press conference to report on their latest talent policies and achievements in building its talent pool.
According to officials, Nansha is offering a subsidies from 2 to 10 million yuan to top-flight talent such as, international award winners, top innovators and entrepreneurs.
Chen Xianshuai, General Manager of CASJANUS, a unicorn company specialized in dental 3D printing, said Nansha’s support is stronger than ever before.
“I was granted a 5-million-yuan housing subsidy which is a huge increase compared with 800 thousand yuan in the past,” he said, “and thanks to Nansha’s policies, our company has successfully introduced a team of top experts from China and abroad.”
As for all the highly educated individuals that have settled in Nansha, the district is also providing housing subsidies of 20 to 60 thousand yuan based on the applicants’ degree level.
In the meantime, Nansha Public Security Bureau is offering a series of advantageous policies to overseas talent, aiming to facilitate permanent residency application, entry-exit service and assist with their children’s education.
Nansha is also the first district in Guangzhou that started offering visa services to foreigners in 2016.
Mark Eames at Nansha’s entry-exit service hall [Photo by Newsgd.com]
Mark Eames from Australia was the first overseas top-flight talent recognized by Nansha FTZ, and he recently submitted a permanent residency application for both him and his family.
When asked the reason why he chose Nansha, Mark Eames said he started his company, Cation Technology, dealing with cyber security and machine learning, in Nansha. “Nansha has a nice living environment and a great talent pool. And because it’s a Free Trade Zone, Nansha will enable you to trade freely with the rest of the world,” he said.
According to Nansha’s Public Security Bureau, it accepted three permanent residency applications from overseas talent in January, and has forwarded the applications to the provincial bureau for further approval.
Reported by Jasmine Yin
Edited by Olivia Ouyang, Simon Haywood
10 new measures to improve Nansha’s administrative and business services
This coming April 21st will mark the 3rd anniversary of the establishment of Nansha Free Trade Zone (FTZ). Over the past three years, Nansha district has launched a series of pilot policies while securing its infrastructure construction, which has brought in a large number of enterprises and projects.
On April 11th, Nansha held a press conference to mark achievements in the reform of government services. Meanwhile, Pan Yuzhang, Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Nansha FTZ, announced 10 new measures to continue to improve the district’s business environment.
Efficient customs service boosts new modes of foreign trade in Nansha
Since launching in 2015, Nansha Free Trade Zone (FTZ) has assisted in the construction of Nansha Port and improved its custom clearance abilities, which has led to14.5% annual growth in foreign trade volume and has boosted a variety of new foreign trade business modes.
Marking its 3rd anniversary, Nansha FTZ held a press conference to share its strategies for trade facilitation yesterday on April 16.
Luo Jianwen, Deputy Director of the Nansha FTZ Port Office, said the district has applied a series of online platforms to customs clearance, inspection and maritime affairs, which has successfully cut the time required for custom clearance by 50%.
KPMG released third-party assessment on Nansha’s business environment
KPMG releases an assessment report on April 17. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
KPMG Advisory (China) Limited, one of the Big Four auditors, assessed the business environment of Nansha Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and released a report recently on April 17.
The report shows Nansha FTZ’s business regulation is catching up to the developed regions worldwide but gaps still exist in aspects as dealing with construction permits and paying taxes.
