Shenzhen is a major city in Guangdong Province, China. It forms part of the Pearl River Delta megalopolis. The city is located immediately north of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and holds sub-provincial administrative status, with powers slightly less than a province.
Shenzhen's modern cityscape is the result of its vibrant economy made possible by rapid foreign investment since the institution of the policy of "reform and opening" in late 1979 when the SEZ was established. The city is a leading global technology hub, and is dubbed as the next Silicon Valley of the world.
Shenzhen is a major financial center in southern China. The city is home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous well-known home grown multinational companies. It has one of the busiest container ports in the world.
Geographical Location
Shenzhen is located within the Pearl River Delta, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Huizhou to the north and northeast, Dongguan to the north and northwest. The municipality covers an area of 1,991.64 square kilometres. The city has a warm, monsoon-influenced, humid subtropical climate.
Shenzhen is surrounded by many islands. Most of them fall under the territory of neighbouring areas such as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Huiyang District, Huizhou. Over 160 rivers or channels flow through Shenzhen.
Administrative Divisions
Shenzhen has direct jurisdiction over nine administrative Districts and one New District: Luohu, Futian, Nanshan, Bao'an , Longgang, Yantian, Longhua, Pingshan , Guangming, and Dapeng.
Adjacent to Hong Kong in southern China, Luohu is the financial and trading center of Shenzhen. Futian, at the heart of the SEZ, is the seat of the Municipal Government. West of Futian, Nanshan is the center for high-tech industries. Formerly outside the SEZ, Bao'an and Longgang are located to the north-west and north-east, respectively, of central Shenzhen. Yantian is the location of Yantian Port, the second busiest container terminal in mainland China and the third busiest in the world.
Demographics
Shenzhen has seen its population and activity develop rapidly since the establishment of the SEZ. The population structure has great diversity, ranging from intellectuals with a high level of education to migrant workers with poor education. Shenzhen was also elected as one of the top 10 cities in China for expatriates. Expatriates choose Shenzhen as a place to settle because of the city’s job opportunities as well as the culture’s tolerance and open-mindedness.
Languages and Religions
Prior to the establishment of Special Economic Zone, the indigenous local communities could be divided into Cantonese and Hakka speakers. The influx of migrants from other parts of the country has drastically altered the city's linguistic landscape, as Shenzhen has undergone a language shift towards Mandarin, which was both promoted by the Chinese Central Government as a national lingua franca and natively spoken by most of the out-of-province immigrants and their descendants.
According to the Department of Religious Affairs of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, the two main religions present in Shenzhen are Buddhism and Taoism. Every district also has Protestant churches, Catholic churches, and mosques. According to a 2010 survey held by the University of Southern California, approximately 37% of Shenzhen's residents were practitioners of Chinese folk religions, 26% were Buddhists, 18% Taoists, 2% Christians and 2% Muslims; 15% were unaffiliated to any religion.
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Economic Status
Shenzhen was the first of the Special Economic Zones established in China. The Shenzhen's rapidly growing skyline is regarded among the best in the world. In 2017, Shenzhen's economic output totaled $338 billion, surpassing that of Guangzhou, Hong Kong for the first time and ranked No.3 in China, only behind Shanghai and Beijing. Its new status will allow the city to become the leading economic engine in China's Greater Bay Area Initiative.
High-Tech Industry
Shenzhen's most important economic sector lies in its role as the headquarters for many of China's high-tech companies. Shenzhen is home to many internationally successful high-tech companies, including Huawei, Tencent, BYD, Konka, Skyworth, ZTE, OnePlus, etc. Many foreign high-tech companies have their China operations centers located in the Science and Technology Park of the Nanshan District.
Shenzhen is a major manufacturing center in China. Due to its unique status as the first Chinese 'Special Economic Zone', Shenzhen is also an extremely fertile ground for startups, be it by Chinese or foreign entrepreneurs.
Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone
Located in western Shenzhen, Qianhai lies at the heart of the Pearl River Delta, adjacent to Shenzhen international airport. According to plans made by the Qianhai administration, as the pilot district for cooperation between mainland China and Hong Kong and innovation in the service industry, Qianhai undertakes four functions:
1. An area that will aim to facilitate innovation in the modern service industry
2. An area that will aim to become a hub of modern services and modern service development
3. A pilot area for closer cooperation between mainland China and Hong Kong
4. A facilitator in the industrial reform and sustainable economic development of the Pearl River Delta
Special Policies
1. Financial Policies
(1) Qianhai shall experiment with the expansion of offshore RMB fund flow-back channels. Qianhai will support the development of Hong Kong as an offshore RMB settlement centre and establish a cross-border RMB innovation zone in order to facilitate the development of RMB financial services.
(2) Qianhai shall support the issuance of RMB loans from local banking institutions to international projects, and from Hong Kong-based banking institutions to Qianhai projects under the stipulations of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA).
(3) Qianhai shall be supported in its efforts to establish an equity investment parent fund in Qianhai.
(4) Hasten the internationalisation of Qianhai's financial market by opening up to Hong Kong under the stipulations of CEPA
(5) Qianhai supports the development of innovative financial instruments, and financial products that support the development of the real economy.
(6) Hong Kong and international banking institutions shall be encouraged to establish their headquarters in Qianhai in order to quicken to pace of the internationalisation of Qianhai's financial industry.
2. Taxation Policies
(1) Eligible companies registered in Qianhai are subject to a 15% preferential corporate income tax rate.
(2) Eligible professionals who are employed in Qianhai are exempt from personal income tax.
3. Human Resource Policies
(1) Qianhai's human resource management mechanism shall be innovated and relevant policies and measures shall be formulated to attract a professional, international workforce, including but not limited to professionals from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, as well as Chinese professionals who are currently working or studying abroad or those who have returned to China.
(2) Professionals with certification from Hong Kong shall be permitted to provide professional services, the boundary of which is confined to Qianhai and to the enterprises and residents of Qianhai. The specific policies, measures, and regulations of such services shall be formulated by relevant regulatory departments.
(3) Professionals from Hong Kong with the certificates of Certified Public Accountant of China shall be permitted to serve as partners of mainland Chinese accounting firms. The pilot trial procedures will be formulated by Shenzhen and will be implemented in Qianhai upon the approval of the Ministry of Finance.
Subsidies Offered to Shenzhen Enterprises
1. Conditions and Standards for Overseas Trademark Registration
Within one year after obtaining the certificate of overseas trademark registration, the applicant shall apply for a one-time subsidy in accordance with the following countries and regions, and the total amount of the annual grant of the same applicant (including enterprises and groups) shall not exceed RMB50,0000.
(1) Trademarks registered in EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office ) and OAPI (Organization for Intellectual Property of Africa ) will get RMB 10000 subsides per trademark;
(2) Trademarks registered in single country/region will get RMB5000 subsides per trademark;
(3) Trademarks registered in Taiwan and Macao will get RMB3000 subsides per trademark;
(4) Trademarks registered through Madrid System will get RMB2000 subsides per country/region, and altogether 20 countries can be applied for at most;
(5) Trademarks registered in Hong Kong Special Administrative Zone will get RMB1000 subsides per trademark.
Trademark registration subsidy for Shenzhen enterprises is one of the preferential incentives granted by Shenzhen municipal government. The measures will be put into effect on the date of promulgation, namely December 18, 2014, and the validity period is only five years. Therefore, you need to seize time to apply for such subsidy.
2. Preferential Policies for Financial Companies in Shenzhen
In an effort to boost the financial sector, Shenzhen introduced a set of regulations on 1 March, 2017 on supporting the development of the financial sector, aiming to attract more financial companies to the city.
To provide a favourable business environment and reduce operating costs for financial institutions in Shenzhen, preferential policies of land use and rent are offered. Upon approval by the municipal government, large financial companies that buy land to build offices for their headquarters or regional headquarters in Shenzhen can purchase the land at a price lower than the market rate and obtain the land-use right by means of assignment. Those that purchase office premises are entitled to a government subsidy of Rmb1,000 per sqm. The municipal government also plans to build residential quarters and lease them at preferential rentals to the middle and senior management personnel of financial institutions.
Contact Us
If you have further inquires, please do not hesitate to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website english.tannet-group.com, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143422, or emailing to tannet-solution@hotmail.com. You are also welcome to visit our office situated in 16/F, Taiyangdao Bldg 2020, Dongmen Rd South, Luohu, Shenzhen, China.
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