On 17 March 2022, the Faculty of Finance of the City University of Macau held the Finance Seminar Series [16], Bank of China Financial Workshop – Third Talk, at the Ho Yin Convention Centre. Mr Ieong San Wen, Head of Division of Bank of China Macau Institute of Finance, was invited to deliver speech titled “Development and Prospect of Guangdong Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin”. Guests attending this seminar include Ms. Ho Soi In, Product Manager of the Integrated Marketing Division and Personal Banking and Channel Management Department, Dean Cheung Wai Kong, Associate Dean Eva Khong, and Course Coordinator of BAE Programme Lin Deqin of the Faculty of Finance, City University of Macau.

To begin with, Mr Ieong introduced the development history of Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. In 2009, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China officially approved the Overall Development Plan of Gengqin, whereby Hengqin Island was designated as Zhuhai Special Economic Zone, and the Hengqin New Area was formally established. In 2010, the State Council officially approved the new strategic implementation of an innovative policy in Hengqin that made it even more special than the policies in force in the other special economic zones of China.

Since the promulgation of the Plan, policies of facilitating Macau residents’ entrepreneurship, employment, residence, transportation and life in the mainland have been continuously improved. Hengqin has become the most concentrated area of Macao-funded enterprises in the mainland. In terms of cross-border financing, some banks have offered cross-border mortgage and direct lending services, and a cross-border electronic direct payment business has also been launched. Moreover, the total transaction amount of various cross-border mobile payment applications in the Greater Bay Area reached 960 million RMB.

Mr Ieong quoted that the focus of the overall plan of the In-Depth Cooperation Zone was to promote an appropriate level of diversified economic development in Macau by its position of “one center, one platform and one base”; to support Macau to develop industries such as R&D and manufacturing of Chinese medicine, featured finance, high and new tech and convention and business trade; to clarify the overall requirements, strategic positioning, development objectives and main measures for the construction of the In-Depth Cooperation Zone; and to establish a new development model in which the In-Depth Cooperation Zone is discussed, built, managed and shared jointly by Guangdong and Macau.

Mr Ieong then concluded the progress and prospect of the construction of Hengqin after the announcement of the overall plan. The construction has given Macau new opportunities and missions, which require the continuous development and innovation of the country, Guangdong and Macau, so as to contribute to the moderate economic diversification of Macau.

At the end of the sharing session, the students took this valuable opportunity to actively pose questions. Mr Ieong responded and shared his views clearly. The lecture helped students to have a deeper understanding of the Hengqin-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone. The Faculty of Finance will continue to invite experts from different fields of the financial industry to share their insights with students in order to enrich their knowledge.