The Dream Factory of China

Source :Shenzhen Daily

More and more young people from Hong Kong are lured to work or start their business in Qianhai due to its numerous supporting policies, strategic development plan and good environment.

Cathy Leung, who works at the human resources department of Laihua (Shenzhen Qianhai Hand-painted Technology and Culture Co. Ltd.), chose to develop her career in Qianhai for several reasons.

“First, in recent years there are more and more policies benefiting Hong Kongers in the Greater Bay Area. As a cooperation zone between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, Qianhai has issued many relevant policies. Second, in Shenzhen, the internet industry is well developed and Laihua is a very creative digital company, which suits my career planning. Though I have been here for a short time, I like it a lot and hope that Qianhai and Laihua will have a prosperous future,” Leung said.

David Ko, founder of GY4K.com, an integrated overseas warehouse services provider for small- and medium-sized companies with smart warehouses and smart production solutions of Industry 4.0, talked about his company’s development in Qianhai. “We entered Qianhai after joining the Qianhai Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in 2017. We settled in Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub at the beginning of 2017, aiming to base in Qianhai and develop our business in the Greater Bay Area and expand to the whole country,” he said.

Ko said that their company has benefited a lot from Qianhai’s supporting policies, including financial support, rent reductions and rent subsidies. “In 2019, the Qianhai authority also rolled out several measures to support the development of Hong Kong and Macao youths in Qianhai which included a ‘red packet’ for the launching of startups,” he said.

Ko added that their team has many Hong Kong youths. “We hope we can become the first batch of pacemakers in Qianhai, which will enable more Hong Kongers to know more about the Chinese mainland and to come and work here. We look forward to more Shenzhen-Hong Kong exchange and cooperation.”

Sisley Cheng, manager of the Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base in Qianhai and deputy president of Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Qianhai, said that the base’s main function is to help female entrepreneurs, especially those in the science and technology field, to settle in Qianhai.

“I am an entrepreneur and freelance investor myself. I operate an incubator in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub and we currently have around 60 Hong Kong institutes, mostly startups, in our incubator,” Cheng said.

According to Cheng, Hong Kong youths have good international visions, and they can give full play to their strengths in the Greater Bay Area. “They can also utilize their international thinking to help good national brands to go global.”

Hong Kong fashion designer Ruby Fang has established her own brand and is striving to combine Chaozhou embroidery with modern fashion design and tailoring. She moved her company into a startup incubator in Qianhai several months ago. Fang was among a total of 79 outstanding young entrepreneurs from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) who were honored at an award ceremony Sept. 15.