A series of new policies will make it more convenient for Hongkongers to live in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, including equal rights to buy property in the nine Guangdong cities in the region, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said last week.

After the third plenary meeting of the leading group for the development of the Bay Area held in Beijing, Lam announced 16 policies that will make it easier for Hongkongers and the Macanese to live, work, study and start businesses across the 11-city cluster.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government welcomed the series of policy measures, which can benefit people from different sectors of Hong Kong society, Lam said.

One of the most noticeable policies is that Hong Kong and Macao residents will be treated as local residents when they buy properties in the nine Guangdong cities. Currently, they have to provide proof of their duration of residence, study or employment, or pay a certain amount of individual income tax and social insurance.

Meanwhile, the children of Hong Kong and Macao residents will share the same pre-primary education services, and participate in the same entrance examination for senior high school admittance as their mainland peers.

In addition, it will be easier for Hong Kong residents to use the mobile electronic payment services on the mainland, as well as cross-boundary wealth management and open mainland bank accounts. These measures could also further promote financial cooperation between the two places, Lam said.

Local young people will be the first to benefit.

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Youth Association executive president Angus Ng Hok-ming said he believes that relaxing the purchase restriction provides a way to ease the plight of Hong Kong youth caused by the city’s staggering housing prices.

Ng also said that effective control measures should be taken to avoid a sharp rise in mainland housing prices, which would adversely affect local mainland residents’ property purchases.

There are five policies and measures to support professional services, including legal, construction and insurance professionals, to practice in the mainland or to develop their businesses.

These policies, as well as the visa policies, reflect the determination of the Bay Area to pool top talent around the globe and create an international science and innovation hub, Ng said.

The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Cooperation Zone at the Lok Ma Chau Loop will help attract more innovation and technology talent from both the mainland and overseas.

He hopes Hong Kong’s entrepreneurs and technology practitioners can find the right position and maximise their advantages in the Bay Area.

“We need to fully understand the policies not only in Hong Kong, but also in Guangdong province, and make full use of the policy support for the flow of talent, capital, goods, information and so forth,” Ng said.

Foreigners also benefit

In addition, foreigners holding Hong Kong Permanent Identity Cards will be able to apply to mainland authorities for a visa or permission for residence with a validity of up to two to five years.

The measure will enhance the synergy effect of gathering talent in various cities of the Bay Area, strengthen Hong Kong’s role as a talent hub for the region, and attract talent from around the world, said Lam.

“It’s certainly positive that a policy like this targets specifically foreign permanent residents in Hong Kong,” said Tobias Zuser, an Austrian university lecturer in Hong Kong who planned to get his Hong Kong Permanent ID this week. “At the moment, there are some areas where they seem to be a forgotten community, which has hindered further integration.”

Zuser is a frequent traveller between Hong Kong and the mainland as he had to do some fieldwork across the boundary. However, he can apply only for one-year visas.

Foreigners in Hong Kong face inconveniences as well, he said. “For instance, when it comes to using cross-boundary online payment systems or booking and retrieving train tickets,” Zuser said.

If these barriers can be gradually lifted, it certainly will contribute to increased mobility of both Chinese and non-Chinese talent across the Bay Area, he added.

However, if the government hopes to attract more talent, they have to do more, he stressed. The new programme is limited to foreign permanent residents, so it may not have a big impact on attracting new talent, as they would first have to live in Hong Kong for a minimum of seven years, he said.

“Maybe in the long term it could be considered to expand the scheme to include temporary residents as well,” Zuser said.

CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK