So, tell us a bit more about the program that you are in charge. The one in Qianhai.
So, how does that …
Well, we started in December 2014. Okay,
basically, we have a piece of land.
It was … it's about 50,000 square meters
and then we built on top about 20,000 square meters
of office space and the lecture theatres, and some
service centers, and a small exhibition hall
and and then a tennis court. So, what happen is we kind of create an environment.
So, there are three blocks for this, like a co-working space, for entrepreneurs.
And then we partner with what we call
incubation partners or platforms - we actually call them platforms - but
basically these are incubators who will nominate somebody’s incubatees to
come in, and then they would hand-hold them, they would teach them how to
do pitching, how to do fundraising,
they may invest initial funding on them
They also try to create an
environment where different entrepreneurs…
I think … the special thing about Qianhai is … it's very close to Hong Kong
So, we now have about a hundred sixty teams in it, half of which …
maybe exactly half is from Hong Kong.
So, they can … the Hong Kong teams
and the mainland Chinese teams
they will mingle with each other.
There are two coffee shops and there’s a
lot of grassland and people, you know,
kind of chat over there.
And sometimes there are synergies when you see
that two different companies would partner together or even join force
So, that was the original purpose actually of creating this e-hub
where we say we want, you know,
because if you look at Hong Kong youngsters,
they have good international exposure,
relatively better language skills,
they understand how the capitalist market work, and things like that.
But they usually not very technical savvy.
And then in Chinese in, like Shenzhen,
but also in some other cities,
there are a lot of R&D forces.
But they may not be very market sensitive,
they may not be very financially sensitive.
(So, each party has something to offer.)
Exactly, so what we're saying
is if these people can get together,
they might … something might happen.
Well, we don't know. We don't want
to just glue them but want to create
an environment and then they bump
into each other (…) and exactly.
Are there any, like, foreigners coming to these programs?
There are. It’s not a lot, though.
Actually not in our program, but I know in Nansha which
is close by, ten minutes’ drive from our park, there’s actually much
bigger software park called the Nansha Software Park.
There there are actually quite a number of, you know
foreigners and various nationalities.
You see Europe people and, you know, and even some, you know, non-Caucasians.
And they kind of start their own company there. They hire some locals.
They learn speaking Mandarin. If you go over there and you go to the the
bars and the coffee shops, you'll run into them. (Right.) Okay, but in
Qianhai so far, it's only a handful.
I don't know how it happened. I mean we did not have a special program
that aim at this non-Chinese market.
Somehow they just call their friends
or whatever, they just come in.
So, although although there's no special
program for attracting them,
but if they do come to China, is that is it
easy for them to set up a …?
It’s …oh, it's all relative.
When compared with Hong Kong, it’s much harder.
But Qianhai as a special zone, we actually
open up quite a few things.
For example, we have a special policy, you know
in China it’s not as simple
as getting a working visa, okay, as you know.
So you have to register, you have to do a lot few things.
But if you go into Qianhai, for example,
to do a startup and then we will help you
to file your, you know, a foreign… it’s called foreign talent card or
whatever, you know, that to help you to get the working visa. (Right.)
And we also have a tax rebate system.
As you know, China's personal income tax
can be as high as some forty something percent whereas in Hong Kong,
it is only … 16, I think, and then
what what happened is we will,
Hong Kong sorry personal
is 15 in Hong Kong … In Qianhai what we do is … we have a
equalization system. So, if you pay tax, we still ask you to pay tax.
In China, tax are paid on a monthly basis. At the end of the year, we will
pay you back whatever is above fifteen percent of your income. (So, equalizing the...)
(Exactly.) So, there are assistance for foreigners on the …
on fulfilling the procedures of coming to China. (Yes.)
Although, of course, there will be some standard procedures …
Exactly. That’s … you still
have to go through the procedures.
But there’re people who will help you
and also will try to simplify it.
Prof. Dominic ChanAssociate Director, EMBA Program, Associate Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship, Project Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship
