Wednesday’s current affairs phone-in programme hosted by Ou Mun Tin Toi, the Chinese-language radio channel of public broadcaster TDM, discussed the development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin after its new “first-tier, second-tier” customs arrangements started on Friday last week, during which a guest speaker suggested that duty-free shopping centres be set up in the zone with the aim of boosting consumption.
Under the new customs mechanism, tariffs are generally lifted for goods entering Hengqin from Macau, while goods moving from Hengqin to elsewhere in the mainland are now subject to import duties, if they are not eligible for value added tax exemption.
Similar tax exemptions also apply to luggage and parcels entering Hengqin from Macau.
Local businessman João Ma (馬志達), a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), noted during the phone-in programme that Hengqin is now still generally adopting the mainland’s taxation system, adding that local businesspeople hoped that Hengqin’s taxation system for goods from Macau sold in Hengqin could be further amended so that it would become “similar to” the one in Macau.
Ma also noted that currently the flow of travellers to Hengqin is still primarily driven by its theme park, calling for the setting-up of duty-free shopping centres in the in-depth cooperation zone with the aim of stimulating consumption.
The Chimelong theme park in south-east Hengqin is officially known as Chimelong International Ocean Tourist Resort.
Currently, a duty-free shop is operated at the Hengqin joint checkpoint.
Lawmaker-cum-unionist Ella Lei Cheng I, who also attended Wednesday’s programme, urged the Macau and Hengqin authorities to create more channels making it easier for residents to get more information and details on the types and number of items that they are allowed to take to Hengqin from Macau.
Legislator-cum-teacher Ma Io Fong said during the programme that some Macau residents still find it difficult to understand the information on the favourable measures under the new two-tier customs arrangements, even after reading the respective official information. He suggested that those with a lack of knowledge of the situation cross the Macau-Hengqin border with the aim of gaining a first-hand understanding.
Lawmaker-cum-banker Ngan Iek Hang called for local IT firms to help improve and enrich car-navigation information for Hengqin as more and more Macau residents were expected to work or live there.
(From left to right) Lawmakers Ma Io Fong, Ngan Iek Hang and Ella Lei Cheng I, as well as Chan Sio Cheng and João Ma, both members of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attend Wednesday’s phone-in programme hosted by public broadcaster TDM’s Chinese-language radio channel. – Photo courtesy of TDM
