It has been four years since Ho Yiu-wai, a Hong Kong young man, established his startup in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone at the Lok Ma Chau Loop in the border area between the two cities.
For Ho, Shenzhen is a place where one can turn research into new products in the shortest possible time. His startup has already secured four rounds of financing and launched its first product into the market.
The cooperation zone consists of a Shenzhen park on the north side of the Shenzhen River and a Hong Kong park on the south of it. The Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park on the Hong Kong side, with construction in full swing now, is expected to be completed between 2024 and 2027.
The Shenzhen park, with 600,000 square meters of research space, are attracting many from Hong Kong to chase their dream of innovation and entrepreneurship, just like Ho.
When Lau Kai-hoi returned home after his overseas study, he decided to start his career in Shenzhen. From a trading company employee to the founder of a cross-border e-commerce platform, he dug up his “first pot of gold” in the trade between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Now Lau is running a business incubator in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone to help more young people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to realize their dreams in the mainland.
“When I was a child, I often came to Shenzhen with my family. I witnessed the process of industrial upgrading in Shenzhen, and I could see the great changes and opportunities,” he said.
From Zhou Shengfu, CEO of vehicle-hailing platform Lalamove, to Wang Wei, the founder and chairman of SF Express, business tycoons who leverage the resources of Shenzhen and Hong Kong are inspiring more Hong Kong people to live a twin-city success dream.
Data from Shenzhen’s Human Resources and Social Security Bureau shows that by the end of 2021, more than 37,000 Hong Kong residents were participating in the employee pension schemes in Shenzhen, an increase of 204% from the end of 2018. In early 2021, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government announced a GBA youth employment program, through which some 700 young people from Hong Kong went to work in Shenzhen.