(Yicai) Sept. 17 -- Hong Kong’s first five-year development plan, released yesterday, highlights deeper integration with Shenzhen as a strategic priority for the special administrative region’s future development.

The Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which runs until 2030, contains more than 60 references to Shenzhen, spanning almost all of its key sections, including innovation and technology, infrastructure, finance, healthcare and environmental protection, according to Yicai research.

Co-operation in scientific and technological innovation is the area with the greatest concentration of Shenzhen-related initiatives. The Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, which is a cross-border innovation hub lying between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, has become the core focus for this collaboration, with more than 20 references throughout the plan.

Shenzhen boasts world-leading hardware manufacturing capabilities and a complete electronics supply chain, while Hong Kong stands out in basic research, international talent and intellectual property.

The plan clearly states the need to coordinate the development of the Hetao Cooperation Zone. It emphasizes strengthening the collaboration between the Hong Kong and Shenzhen sections of the zone in terms of spatial layout, planning integration and infrastructure connectivity, as well as establishing an effective special regulatory framework. It supports the alignment of the Shenzhen section with Hong Kong’s international research standards, facilitating the safe, efficient and convenient flow of innovative elements such as people, goods, capital and data.

For Shenzhen’s innovative companies, the Hong Kong part of the Hetao Cooperation Zone serves as a major gateway to overseas research resources and investment. For Hong Kong, connecting with Shenzhen’s industrial supply chains could help accelerate the transformation of research results into products and business models.

Beyond Hetao, the plan calls for the development of a data park in Hong Kong’s Sandy Ridge as a key node of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Boundary Control Points Economic Belt, providing computational power to support the artificial intelligence industry.

Infrastructure Push

The plan outlines the construction of a “rail-connected Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” with the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway and the Northern Link Spur Line being two landmark cross-border projects. Once completed, the revaluation of land along the routes and the restructuring of industries are expected to generate numerous investment opportunities.

Detailed design and construction tenders for the Hong Kong section of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway are scheduled to begin in 2027, with the two regions aiming to open their respective sections simultaneously in 2035, according to the plan’s timeline. Travel time between Hung Shui Kiu in Hong Kong and Qianhai in Shenzhen is expected to fall to about 30 minutes. The Northern Link Spur is targeted for completion in 2034.

In terms of the finance and service sectors, the plan calls for stronger links between Hong Kong’s financial markets and those of Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other cities. It also emphasizes greater use of cross-border data verification platforms, and fostering the development of financial technology across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

It also aims to deepen collaboration between the two regions’ stock exchanges, including supporting links between Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and the Qianhai Equity Exchange, to help more high-quality mainland companies access international capital markets through Hong Kong’s listing platform.

Editor: Kim Taylor