Plan to spur HK, Macao investors

A three-year action plan released on Monday by the mainland's top economic regulator signaled a potential relaxation or removal of eligibility criteria, shareholding ratios and industry access restrictions for Hong Kong and Macao investors, emphasizing increased openness in the financial sector, experts said.

The plan, unveiled by the National Development and Reform Commission, also highlighted the introduction of special measures to relax market access in the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Guangdong province. More efforts are also expected to support the launch of pilot projects to ease market access requirements in Nansha district, Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

The action plan incorporates these opening-up measures into the framework of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, which was signed in 2003 to promote closer economic relations.