Han Ximin

ximnan@126.com

SHENZHEN released a collection of documents and incentives for Taiwan enterprises and compatriots to invest, work, live and study in the city yesterday, in its latest move to implement preferential incentives to promote cross-Straits economic and cultural exchanges released by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in February.

The collection includes 99 policies in 18 categories covering financial funding, government procurement, trade, scientific innovation and taxation. For Taiwanese to better understand the policies, it also provides website links and guidance.

“Earlier this year, the city budgeted 25.7 billion yuan [US$4 billion] in 54 special fund programs to subsidize 200 projects. Enterprises in Shenzhen, including Taiwanese-funded enterprises, can apply for the projects,” said Zheng Chongyang, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, at a news conference yesterday.

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council released 31 incentives in February to promote cross-Straits exchanges. Of the measures, 12 concerned facilitating market access and competition for Taiwanese enterprises on the mainland. Taiwanese will be allowed to invest in State-owned enterprises, and participate in public biddings and innovation programs. Nineteen measures offer opportunities for highly educated Taiwanese to study, initiate startups or be employed in areas that used to be off-limits for them, such as the cultural industry. Highly skilled professionals and technical personnel from 134 listed professions have been invited to work on the mainland, with all administrative restrictions annulled. Taiwanese scholars and universities can participate in mainland manifold grant programs for research funding and are eligible for the same State subsides as their mainland counterparts.

The policies, except for those relating to State agencies, have been incorporated into the city’s incentives to attract Taiwan individuals and enterprises, according to Zheng.

Many Taiwanese enterprises have benefited from the incentives in Shenzhen. In 2017, a Taiwanese enterprise got a subsidy of 70 million yuan from the government to set up a regional headquarters and research center in the city, according to Zheng.

There are around 50,000 Taiwanese living in Shenzhen, with 2,098 children studying at Shenzhen schools.

At present, there are 86 Taiwanese-funded enterprises in Shenzhen, each with more than  US$10 million of investment. The city has accumulatively introduced 6,138 Taiwan-funded enterprises in recent decades with a total contractual value of US$12.2 billion.

The export volume of Taiwan enterprises in Shenzhen accounted for one-fifth of the city’s total. The city has 30 research institutes and 11 financial institutions funded by Taiwanese investment. There are a total of 28 flights a week from Shenzhen to Taiwan. Around 2.3 million Taiwan compatriots come to the mainland through Shenzhen checkpoints each year.