Leading Macao tech company seeks growth opportunities in Greater Bay Area

China

Leading Macao tech company seeks growth opportunities in Greater Bay Area

2024-12-17 11:28 Last Updated At：18:47

A leading tech company in the Macao Special Administrative Region is leveraging the talent pool and favorable policies of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to pursue growth opportunities.

Ng Hong Kei is a founding member and the Executive Director of BoardWare Intelligence Technology Limited, an IT solutions company established in Macao in 2010. In 2022, the company made history as the first Macao-based tech firm to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Boardware started to transfer part of its businesses to Hengqin in south China's Guangdong Province in 2017.

In 2021, the Chinese central government set up the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin to foster closer integration between the two regions. The zone has become a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, hosting nearly 6,500 Macao-invested enterprises and providing a platform for new industries.

Now, each weekday morning, Ng drives from Macao to the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin to his office.

His twin-city lifestyle has become more convenient thanks to the streamlined border check procedures at Hengqin Port. The smart system at the port allows passengers' information including identity documents, facial recognition, and fingerprints to be collected at one stop, with the entire process taking just one to two minutes.

Ng is highly familiar with this system, as he was involved in the development of its iris recognition technology.

In Hengqin, a large part of Ng's work is to collaborate with a research team from the Chinese mainland to develop the latest Brain-computer interface products.

"This is a mind-controlled wheelchair. My colleague is wearing our brain-machine interface headband and can control the movement of the electric wheelchair by simply looking at the screen in front of him," said Ng when introducing his product.

Thanks to the abundant talent resources and policy incentives in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Ng's company has continued to grow and expand, establishing branches in the Hong Kong SAR and Guangzhou in the mainland.

"Firstly, in terms of talent recruitment, it will be easier for us to attract high-level talents in technology research and development areas compared to Macao. Secondly, in terms of policy advantages, especially for Macao enterprises, it has more preferable policies compared to other cities in the mainland," said the executive.

China to increase issuance size of ultra-long special treasury bonds in 2025

2024-12-17 17:21 Last Updated At：17:37

China intends to issue more ultra-long special treasury bonds in 2025, aiming to promote equipment renewal, encourage trade-in programs, and support major national strategies and projects, according to the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs.

As of Dec. 12, driven by treasury bonds issued to promote large-scale equipment renewal and the trading-in of consumer goods, over 5.2 million new vehicles have been sold, generating more than 690 billion yuan (about 95 billion U.S. dollars) in sales revenue. Besides, over 49 million home appliances were sold through these programs, totaling more than 210 billion yuan (about 29 billion U.S. dollars), and more than 2 million old equipment sets were replaced.

These treasury bonds have also supported the development of more than 1,400 major projects, including the new land-sea corridor in western China, high-standard farmland in northeastern China, and the shelterbelt program in northern China.

Based on the progress made in 2024, China plans to issue more ultra-long special treasury bonds in the coming year, with a significant increase in bonds supporting equipment upgrades and consumption through trade-ins, the committee said.

Meanwhile, more products and sectors with high market demand and strong potential will be considered for inclusion in the scope of policy support.

In addition, the funds raised from treasury bonds will be carefully allocated to support key national strategic areas and projects, while improving the mechanisms and efficiency of their use.