Hengqin, the Guangdong–Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone, has introduced a coordinated set of financial policies targeting cross-border financial institutions and private fund managers, signalling a shift from entity-focused incentives to transaction- and deployment-based support.

For foreign banks, asset managers, and professional service firms using Macao as a gateway to the mainland, Hengqin is positioning itself as a policy testbed with clearer operational logic and measurable incentives.

The new framework places emphasis on actual cross-border business volume, rather than simple registration or licensing.

Key measures include:

• Free Trade Accounts (FTAs)
  Banks developing or deploying FTA systems that pass regulatory review are eligible for one-off subsidies. Ongoing incentives are linked to annual settlement growth, with defined caps.

• Cross-Border Asset Transfers and Guarantees
  Local financial institutions conducting cross-border asset transfers or guarantee transactions receive subsidies proportional to deal size. Transactions involving Macao financial institutions qualify for higher support ratios.

• Cross-Border Leasing and International Factoring
  Leasing and factoring companies are encouraged to expand cross-border operations, with incentives calculated based on prior-year business volumes, favouring institutions with substantive operations.

• Multinational Cash Pooling
  Companies newly approved to operate integrated RMB and foreign-currency cash pools receive targeted, one-off support.

The design reflects a “business-for-support” model, favouring institutions with existing clients and execution capacity rather than speculative entrants.

From a structural perspective, Hengqin’s approach addresses three practical concerns for foreign participants:

• Scaling cross-border activity under regulatory certainty
  Incentives reduce early-stage operating costs while remaining tightly linked to compliant transaction volume.

• Institutionalising Macao’s role in capital structures
  Preferential treatment for Macao-linked capital adds predictability for holding, funding, and governance arrangements centred on Macao.

• Encouraging sustained operations, not short-term arbitrage
  Most incentives are performance-based and distributed over time, limiting policy-driven churn.

For foreign banks, fund managers, law firms, accounting firms, and valuation advisers, Hengqin is emerging as a functionally oriented financial zone—less focused on headline attraction and more on executable cross-border finance.