Registering a new business in Qianhai will take just two working days thanks to a new measure that simplifies registration procedures adopted by the Qianhai authority.
Related information regarding a newly registered company will be disseminated among the government departments involved, including the area’s market authority, public security bureau and taxation office, and banks.
The move is one of the 49 measures the Qianhai authority adopted in the “2019 Business Environment Reform Action Plan for China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone Qianhai and Shekou Area and Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen” on Aug. 6 in its efforts to further enhance its business environment.
Self-service machines equipped with facial recognition technology will also be introduced to offer DIY company registration. A business license will be issued via the self-service machines by following the instructions to complete registration procedures.
The Qianhai authority aims to shorten the approval process to 80 working days for government investment projects and 33 working days for nongovernment investment projects.
In addition, the Qianhai authority in early April rolled out the one-stop “Shenzhen-Hong Kong Easy Registration” service, allowing potential Hong Kong investors to complete market registration with a designated bank outlet in Hong Kong, thereby greatly saving time.
Qianhai is now also mulling the integration of companies engaged in service export with its tax-rebate system to encourage the international trade of technology, human resources and other services. In addition, a one-stop trade service platform involving banks, insurance, aviation, ports and railways will be formed to facilitate international trade.
Qianhai pledges to uphold a fair competition policy in accordance with the latest international rules, under which all companies – foreign-funded, State-owned and domestic private firms, big or SMEs – in the free trade area will be treated fairly in market registration, qualification approval, government procurement, preferential policies on high technology, IPO and financing.
The Qianhai authority aims to build the free trade area in an environmentally friendly way by applying relevant building standards from Hong Kong for energy-efficient construction. The plan also proposes to establish a diversified commercial dispute resolution mechanism and build Qianhai into an international commercial dispute resolution center.
The Qianhai authority has been striving to improve its business environment by making institutional innovations. It was ranked 31st by London-headquartered tax and consulting service provider, Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), among 190 world economies, in terms of the quality of its business environment in 2018.
