The Guangzhou Administration for Industry and Commerce (GAIC) and Chong Hing Bank which is headquartered in Hong Kong, signed a Guangzhou-Hong Kong cross-border cooperative agreement for business registration and support in Hong Kong on March 8, which marked the official launch of the business service for Guangzhou's foreign investors.

According to the cooperative agreement between the GAIC and Chong Hing Bank, the cross-border mechanism, which extends business services from the Chinese mainland into HK and facilitates the settlement of overseas investors in Guangzhou, is part of efforts made to deepen the cooperation between Guangdong province and HK. Guangzhou aims to consolidate its position as an important exchange platform between the Chinese mainland, HK, and Macao.

To further improve the business environment for foreign investment, the GAIC will soon take steps to implement the cross-border service, which provides foreign investors who plan to set up businesses in Guangzhou with convenient remote registration services, through online platforms as well as bank business units.

Hong Kong has been chosen to be the first targeted area for the project, before rolling out the service on a larger scale, since the city currently contributes the largest number of foreign investors to Guangzhou.

According to the GAIC staff members in charge of the cross-border service, the cooperative agreement mainly involves five areas.

The first is the strengthening of service coordination and information-sharing. The GAIC will open a "green channel" for Chong Hing Bank for the purposes of business registration, corporate financial reporting, registration consulting and other such affairs. It will also provide business credit information on the bank's corporate clients. Taking advantage of its business network in Hong Kong, Chong Hing Bank will provide potential investors to Guangzhou with a series of consulting and application services.

The second is the innovation of financial services for enterprises in Guangzhou. Chong Hing Bank will provide enterprises settling down in Guangzhou with a convenient array of services including assistance in opening accounts, financing, equity pledges, and mortgage registrations.

The third is the promotion of Guangzhou as an investment destination. Chong Hing Bank will utilize its resources in HK to publicize and promote Guangzhou's strengths in policy, geography, society and economy.     

The fourth is to co-establish reward and punishment mechanisms for business credit. The GAIC will establish and improve the credit record archives of Guangzhou-based enterprises, and strengthen information-sharing services with Chong Hing Bank. For enterprises with good credit records, the GAIC will open the green channel, and Chong Hing Bank will offer favorable credit support. For enterprises with poor credit records, the GAIC will better monitor them by strengthening daily supervision and inspection. Chong Hing Bank will also raise the requirements for loan approval and prevent preferential policies from being applied to these enterprises.

The fifth is to accelerate the proceedings for the establishment of the first collection of cooperation projects. The GAIC will reinforce staff training and provide guidance on the services offered. Chong Hing Bank will actively expand on the number of resources offered to corporate clients and provide them with necessary consulting free of charge, so that business registration for the first group of settling enterprises can be complete as soon as possible.

Step by step, the Guangzhou Administration for Industry and Commerce will roll out the cross-border service in Macao and Taiwan. In due course, the service will extend to Japan, Singapore, and other countries and regions in Asia and beyond, following higher standards and international rules. With a greater number of investments and talents across the world being attracted to Guangzhou, the city's international competitiveness will continue to grow.