Q&A On the Development of Hengqin and Qianhai

Title: Q&A On the Development of Hengqin and Qianhai -- The transcript of SCIO Press Conference on the development of Hengqin and Qianhai

The State Council Information Office (SCIO) held a press conference at 3 p.m. on Thursday，September 9，2021. Attending the conference were Pan Gongsheng，Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBC) and Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)，officials from the National Development and Reform Commission，the Leading Group for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area，the Ministry of Finance and the General Administration of Customs，and officials from the governments of Guangdong，Shenzhen，Hong Kong and Macao. They briefed the conference on the development of Hengqin and Qianhai and answered questions. The transcript is as follows.

Journalist with China Daily: To promote financial interconnectivity is important for aligning rules and mechanisms in the Greater Bay Area，and the financial sector is considered a key area to the development of Hengqin and Qianhai. Would you introduce to us the support rendered by the PBC and SAFE for the development of Hengqin and Qianhai? What are the measures newly introduced this time? Thank you.

Pan Gongsheng，PBC Deputy Governor and SAFE Administrator: Thank you for your questions. The PBC and SAFE have attached great importance to the development of the Greater Bay Area. In line with the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area issued by the central government，we have been moving ahead with financial opening-up and innovation in the area，including Hengqin and Qianhai.

In May 2020，the PBC and other financial regulators jointly issued the Opinions on Providing Financial Support for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area，in which 26 tasks regarding the priorities in the reform and opening-up of the financial sector are laid out to promote financial opening-up and innovation in the area. Since then，the PBC and SAFE have been advancing the implementation of the financial innovation measures in line with the principle of "balancing short-term and long-term goals and prioritizing financial services closely related to people's well-being".

To that end，we have launched a pilot program allowing Hong Kong and Macao residents to remotely open Mainland bank accounts，and will gradually expand its coverage and scale. We have taken measures to facilitate the use of mobile payment by Hong Kong and Macao residents in the Mainland. In addition，we have introduced services for their convenience，such as cross-border direct payment of electronic bills and self-service inquiry on personal credit information. These measures have substantially facilitated people's lives in the Greater Bay Area.

With regard to market interconnectivity，continued efforts have been made to expand the channels for Hong Kong and Macau investors to invest in in the Mainland capital and bond markets. We have been working on the schemes of Wealth Management Connect and Southbound Bond Connect，which will be officially launched soon.

To promote cooperation on green finance，we have taken active steps to encourage local governments to issue green municipal bonds in Hong Kong and Macao while boosting cooperation between green bond certification agencies in Guangdong，Hong Kong and Macao. With joint efforts，the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Green Finance Alliance has been launched.

Moreover，we have launched successively in the Greater Bay Area the pilot programs on the free trade account，cross-border transfer of credit assets，external debt facilitation，cross-border cash pooling and cross-border investment by private equity funds.

Going forward，the PBC and SAFE will continue to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and to step up financial support for the development of Hengqin and Qianhai.

First，in accordance with the two plans issued by the central government and in order to support the strategic positioning of Hengqin and Qianhai，the PBC is working with financial regulators in Hong Kong and Macao to draft documents specifically on financial support for reform and opening-up in the two zones.

Second，in accordance with Hengqin's strategic positioning，which is to support Macao by achieving integrated development with it，we will formulate open financial institutional arrangements for Hengqin. We will work towards establishing an electronic fence system and further improve the opening-up of Hengqin’s financial services to financial institutions in Macao so as to achieve the integration of their financial services. We will promote the development of financial businesses with Macau’s characteristics while enhancing the width and depth of Macao’s financial market as well as its financial ties with Portuguese-speaking countries.

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