1. Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone

At the end of 2014, the State Council approved plans to set up the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) spanning over four areas--Nansha in Guangzhou, Qianhai and Shekou in Shenzhen and Hengqin in Zhuhai.

Guangdong FTZ facilitates the long-standing cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and strives to create greater opportunities for free-trade. It is expected to become one of the least restrictive trade environments in the country,which will promote higher degrees of freedom for international business.

2. Strategic New Industries

The strategic new industries that Guangdong Province cultivates and develops include high-end cutting-edge digital information systems, new-energy automobiles, LED technology, bio-tech, high-end equipment manufacturing, energy conservation and environmental protection technologies, new energies and new materials.

During the 12th Five-year Plan (2011-15), the province invested 22 billion yuan ($3.25 billion) toward the development of new industries and the adoption of modern financial methods such as loan interest subsidies, guarantee interest subsidies, free subsidies, award subsidies, stock right investments and debt investments in order to strengthen the combination of financial and fiscal capital. It also lent comprehensive support to sectors such as technical R&D, industrialization, platform construction, IPR, industry clusters and market cultivation.

3. Service Industries

As of 2015, the proportion of added value between service industries and province GDP has improved to 48 percent. The annual average growth of the added value per capita in the service industry has increased by about 9 percent, reaching over 35,000 yuan.

Priority has been given to the development of modern service industries. Sectors such as finance, modern logistics, information services, scientific and technological services, service outsourcing, modern tourism, culture preservation services and health services have all seen productive developments. Guangdong has taken the lead in promoting further extension of services, such as finance, education, medical care and professional services, to Hong Kong and Macao.

Source: Guangdong Business Guide 2015 (《广东投资指南2015》）released by Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province