The Guangdong province coastal city of Zhuhai is set to become a key channel for cross-border financial and fintechcooperation with the former Portuguese colony of Macau, amidst efforts to integrate the broader regional economy as part of the Greater Bay Area plan.
The Zhuhai municipal government has just called for “comprehensively deepening unique Zhuhai-Macau financial cooperation” as well as “driving the rapid establishment of a cross-border financial cooperative demonstration zone” on the island of Hengqin, which is a special economic district under Zhuhai.
Zhuhai has outlined a “one core two wings” (一核两翼) development plan for regional financial cooperation, which makes the development of cross-border finance the “core,” and the strengthening of tech finance and fintech cooperation the two “wings.”
“Zhuhai is closely tracking financial development trends, and actively planning to make the fintech sector a focal direction for unique financial cooperation,” said Wang Pan (王攀), chair of the Zhuhai Financial Work Department Office according to a report from Securities Daily.
Wang said that Zhuhai is currently in the process of creating the Zhuhai Fintech Centre (Xiangzhou) (珠海市金融科技中心（香洲）) and the Hengqin Smart Finance Industrial Park (横琴智慧金融产业园), in order to actively bring together fintech resources in Hong Kong and Macau.
Zhuhai has gathered together an initial cohort of fintech companies, while the city will also “accelerate the research and unveiling of fintech support policies.”
As of the end of December 2018 Zhuhai was host to 4643 equity and venture investment companies, including 1633 private funds that have completed registered with the Asset Management Association of China, involving managed funds of nearly 500 billion yuan.
