On August 26th, marking Qianhai's 14th anniversary, the most significant announcement was undoubtedly the "Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub Series of Policies and Projects". Aiming to "create an innovative and entrepreneurial platform for new-quality productivity with international influence", Qianhai introduced the "1510" development model, offering measures such as "HK$1 entry and incubation,a HK$500 million fund, and 100,000 square meters of industrial space" for Hong Kong youth and enterprises. The scale of support has attracted widespread attention.
As Qianhai's most well-known cooperation platform in Hong Kong, the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub (hereinafter referred to as "Qianhai Ehub") has incubated 788 Hong Kong-based startups over nearly a decade of operation. It has not only been called "where dreams begin" by President Xi Jinping but has also received endorsements from three Chief Executives of Hong Kong.
What is the deeper meaning behind this "ambitious" comprehensive upgrade plan?
What signals does the redefinition of Qianhai Ehub's value convey?
"Where Dreams Begin"
Initiated by the Qianhai Authority, Shenzhen Youth Federation, and Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Qianhai Ehub officially opened on December 7, 2014. Its original purpose was to build a ladder for Hong Kong and Macao youth to grow and develop in the mainland, enhance Hong Kong youth's understanding and value identification with the mainland, and create the "first stop" for Hong Kong youth's northbound development.
Initially, Qianhai Ehub was located in Qianwan with a total floor area of only 27,000 square meters, accommodating around 200 startups or teams. Designed by Hong Kong designer Ho Chow Lai, the park resembles the traditional Chinese character for "dream" when viewed from above. Notable entrepreneurial youth from Hong Kong such as Chan Shing, Kwok Wai Keung, and Yiu Chun Pong also started their journeys here.
On October 24, 2018, on the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up, President Xi Jinping visited Qianhai again and met with representatives of Shenzhen-Hong Kong startups from Qianhai Ehub, calling it "where dreams begin".
Since then, Qianhai Ehub has expanded into Central, North, and South Zones, with a planned total floor area of 390,000 square meters, a 14-fold increase. It covers the entire lifecycle of enterprises from "startup, acceleration, to maturity", constructing a dream-fulfilling system for youth from Hong Kong and Macao.
The original area has been renamed the Central Zone, serving as the "Dream Starter Zone" from "0 to 1"; the North Zone is the "Dream Accelerator Zone" from "1 to 10"; and the South Zone is the "Dream Demonstration Zone" from "10 to 100, 1000, 10000".
Meanwhile, with the support of policies such as Qianhai's "12 Measures to Support Hong Kong and Macao Youth", Qianhai Ehub has incubated 788 Hong Kong-based startup teams. Many of these enterprises are valued at over HK$100 million or even billions. A number of companies, such as Craftman Technology and Langs Tech, have opened branches in Hong Kong.
"Our accelerator mainly focuses on incubating vertical industries such as artificial intelligence, digital economy, metaverse, blockchain technology development, and architectural technology. Currently, our occupancy rate is 100%, with 83% being Hong Kong-based entrepreneurial teams. Some are on their way to becoming unicorn companies", said Cheng Si Yi, a Hong Kong youth and founder of Shenzhen Siyi Incubator Co., Ltd.
This is also the current situation facing Qianhai Ehub after nearly a decade of development: As Hong Kong accelerates its integration into the overall development of the country and the park expands its physical space and incubation capacity, the number of startups, especially youth and enterprises from Hong Kong, entering the acceleration and maturity stages will inevitably increase daily. Meeting their higher-stage development needs and continuing to support and empower them has become one of the urgent issues that need to be addressed.
Chief Executives’ Choice
"Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cooperation" is Qianhai’s core mission. Since its launch, Qianhai Ehub has not only been recognised as one of the first "Guangdong-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bases" by the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Hong Kong SAR Government, but has also always been highly regarded by the governments of both Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Over the past decade, all Chief Executives of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, namely Leung Chun-ying, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, and John Lee Ka-chiu, have visited the site and interacted with Hong Kong entrepreneurial teams and youth in incubation.
"I have visited similar parks in mainland cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and Qianhai Ehub has two unique advantages: firstly, its location is strategically advantageous, with a journey from northwest New Territories, Hong Kong to Qianhai taking only around half an hour. With the advancement of the Hong Kong Northern Metropolis development plan and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Western Corridor Railway (Hung Shui Kiu to Qianhai), the physical distance will become even shorter in the future; secondly, it is a pioneer in implementing policies", said Tang Leung-shun, Business Director of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups.
This is not an exaggeration. To date, Qianhai has launched over 200 policies benefiting Hong Kong.
For example, 24 categories of Hong Kong and Macao professionals can practise in Qianhai after filing (registration); it has achieved "Hong Kong capital, Hong Kong law, Hong Kong arbitration", allowing Hong Kong-funded enterprises in Qianhai to choose Hong Kong law for mediation and litigation in handling civil and commercial contract disputes, and Hong Kong can also be chosen as the place of arbitration; the preferential corporate income tax policy has been extended to the entire Qianhai Cooperation Zone, and the portion of individual income tax for Hong Kong residents working in Qianhai that exceeds the Hong Kong tax burden is exempted
The introduction of the "1510" development model for the overall upgrade of Qianhai Ehub is also intended to address the issues of funding and space shortages for Hong Kong youth entrepreneurship. Taking the "One-Yuan Innovation Workshop" as an example, occupants only need to pay a service fee of 1 yuan per square metre per month to enjoy free incubation services for three years. "This is a significant benefit for us, greatly reducing rental costs and allowing us to focus on business incubation, acceleration, and nurturing", said Cheng Si Yi.
It is foreseeable that tangible support will inevitably attract more Hong Kong youth and enterprises to set up operations, and Qianhai will also promote integrated development with a cooperative and win-win attitude towards Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
"We hope to collaborate with Hong Kong to cultivate high-growth enterprises and high-quality innovation and entrepreneurship projects, facilitate the commercialisation of research outcomes from Hong Kong universities, and encourage enterprises to sprout in Hong Kong, grow in the mainland, and then return to Hong Kong for development and listing", said a relevant responsible person from the Qianhai Authority. Qianhai will thoroughly implement "the requirements of the Central Government", accurately grasp "the direction of the Bay Area", proactively align with "the needs of Hong Kong", and always strive to do its best.
Momentum for the Future
In addition to its own quality improvement needs and national mandates, the upgrade plan for Qianhai Ehub is also part of Qianhai's strategic layout for the future. This is evident in its goal of "transforming Ehub into an internationally influential innovation and entrepreneurship platform for new-quality productivity targeted at Hong Kong youth and enterprises", with "international influence" and "new-quality productivity" being the key terms.
"Facing the world and continuously promoting international cooperation and building competitive advantages" is the very significance of the national push for the development and opening-up of Qianhai. With the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation advancing in depth, the development of new-quality productivity has become a crucial landing point for promoting high-quality development, as well as the call of the times for building a powerful nation and enhancing international competitiveness.
New-quality productivity is dominated by technological innovation. Since the release of the "Plan for Deepening the Reform and Opening-Up of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone" in September 2021, Qianhai has been entrusted with the significant task of "reforming and innovating the scientific and technological development system and mechanisms". Subsequently, measures such as the "Implementation Measures to Support Scientific and Technological Innovation" and the "16 Articles on Intellectual Property Rights" jointly released with Hong Kong have been introduced to facilitate the cross-border integration of innovation elements from Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao, and to build an intellectual property ecosystem.
Hong Kong has five universities ranked among the top 100 in the world, and 70% of the research institutions possess internationally excellent and leading-edge scientific research capabilities, complementing Shenzhen's complete industrial chain and vast market resources. If their respective resources are fully integrated, Qianhai Ehub can serve as a carrier to cultivate a "fertile soil for innovation" for the vigorous development of new-quality productivity.
However, scientific and technological innovation requires substantial research and development investment, a long cycle, and high risks, necessitating the companionship of patient capital. Therefore, in the "1510" development model this time, Qianhai will invest CNY 500 million to establish the Ehub Fund and form the "Ehub Fund Alliance", introducing long-term and patient capital to support technological innovation enterprises in Ehub. Members of the alliance include Shenzhen Capital Group, Shenzhen Angel Capital Guiding Fund, Hony Capital, Guoxin Fund, China Merchants Venture, Qianhai FOF, and Hong Kong Innoangel Fund.
"We hope that Shenzhen and Hong Kong can collaborate with Qianhai as the base to achieve complementary advantages in the industrial chain, interconnected innovation chains, integrated talent chains, dual-track financial support, and collaborative industry-university-research innovation within the Greater Bay Area, and then face the global market", said the responsible person.
Currently, Qianhai Ehub has initiated a global recruitment of Hong Kong executives with an international perspective, intending to implement Hong Kong-style management in the park. It strives to achieve noticeable results from this upgrade plan within the year. Stay tuned!
