Notice on Issuing the Administration Measures for Entities to Settle in the Mingzhu Financial Innovation Cluster in Nansha District of Guangzhou Municipality (Revised in 2023)

Normative Document No 1 [2023] of Financial Affairs Bureau of Nansha Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality

Notice on Issuing the Administration Measures for Entities to Settle in the Mingzhu Financial Innovation Cluster in Nansha District of Guangzhou Municipality (Revised in 2023)

All towns (street communities), departments of and agencies directly under Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone (Nansha District),

The Administration Measures for Entities to Settle in the Mingzhu Financial Innovation Cluster in Nansha District of Guangzhou Municipality (Revised in 2023) have been reviewed and approved in accordance with the procedures and are hereby issued to you for your compliance and implementation.

Financial Affairs Bureau of

Nansha Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality

September 13, 2023

Administration Measures for Entities to Settle in the Mingzhu Financial Innovation Cluster in Nansha District of Guangzhou Municipality (Revised in 2023)

Article 1 The Mingzhu Financial Innovation Cluster (hereinafter referred to as the "Cluster") is established and these Measures are hereby formulated to fully improve and leverage the advantages of financial agglomeration, promote the clustered development of upstream and downstream high-end financial enterprises in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone), better support the high-quality development of the real economy with financial services, and set up an influential new benchmark in the financial industry.

Article 2 The Cluster is located at the tip of Lingshan Island in the launching area of Pearl Bay in Nansha District, Guangzhou Municipality. It attracts financial enterprises with buildings featuring convenient transportation, developed commercial facilities and well-functioning office space.

Article 3 These Measures apply to the enterprises, organizations or institutions that contribute to the development of the financial industry in Nansha. They shall meet the following requirements and have settled in the Cluster upon selection by the competent financial authority of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone in accordance with relevant procedures (hereinafter referred to as "settled-in entities").

(I) Settled-in entities should operate or mainly do business in Nansha, pay the individual income tax or social insurance for their employees in Nansha according to the law, settle in and set up the office in the Cluster and have at leaset 3 full-time employees working on site.

(II) Settled-in entities shall meet one of the following requirements:

1. They meet the criteria specified in the current effective financial support measures of Nansha.

2. They are one of the following financial businesses that are not qualified for the subsidy or reward specified in the current effective financial support measures of Nansha:

2.1 Financial technology

They are enterprises, organizations or institutions whose main business is registered as financial technology or relevant businesses upon the approval of relevant national authorities, and they meet 2 of the following 3 conditions: ① They have more than 3 full-time employees with more than 3 years of research or practical experience in financial technology; ②They have more than 3 sets of self-developed financial technology products or have over 3 software copyrights or authorized patents; ③They are engaged in frontier research such as the digital economy and blockchain.

2.2 Investment platforms

They are limited liability companies or joint stock limited companies that are established according to the law, mainly engaged in equity investment management or established by shareholders with their own funds and whose main business is equity investment. They have more than 3 full-time employees with qualification certificates or more than 3 years of practical experience in relevant fields. They have a paid-in investment of no less than 100 million yuan or promise a paid-in investment of no less than 100 million yuan within half a year after their settling in the Cluster.

2.3 Private equity

They are private fund management enterprises registered with Asset Management Association of China with the registered funds under management of more than 200 million yuan.

2.4 Commercial factoring

They meet one of the following requirements: ① They are commercial factoring enterprises that have been publicly included in the supervisory list issued by the superior financial regulatory authorities with a paid-in registered capital of more than 50 million yuan and an operation income of over 10 million yuan in the previous year; ② They are commercial factoring enterprises whose main business is commercial factoring, with a paid-in capital of over 100 million yuan and an operation income of over 10 million yuan in the previous year, but they are not publicly listed in the supervisory list issued by the superior financial regulatory authorities.

2.5 Insurance agency

They are engaged in insurance brokerage, insurance agency, insurance sales and insurance valuation and have been approved by or registered with relevant national authorities. They meet 1 of the following 2 requirements: ① They have a paid-in registered capital of over 10 million yuan; ② They have an operation income of over 10 million yuan.

2.6 Wealth and asset management

They are institutions that comply with financial regulatory requirements and provide professional services in the asset management market such as audit, legal affairs, accounting, consulting, credit enhancement, trusteeship, evaluation, investment research, risk management, tax planning, fund registration, valuation, evaluation of asset management products, information technology, index product development, operations, family offices, etc.; They are global or regional fund management centers and groups' finance companies established by multinational corporations in Nansha; They are national, Hong Kong, Macao or international asset management organizations or their service offices, practice bases, training centers, representative offices, sales centers, etc.; They have more than 3 full-time employees with more than 3 years of research or practical experience in relevant fields.

2.7 Green finance (climate investment and financing)

They are enterprises, organizations or institutions that meet relevant financial regulatory requirements, have sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) management systems and have specialized management departments for green finance (climate investment and financing). They meet 1 of the following 3 requirements: ① They have more than 5 full-time employees and research findings in such fields as green finance, climate investment and financing, and carbon finance; ② The green finance (climate investment and financing) business accounts for over 50% of their total business; ③ They are financial institutions, third-party service providers, key research institutions or product R&D centers that meet relevant standards and are included in the Climate Investment and Financing Consensus Platform of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area upon the identification by financial regulatory authorities.

2.8 Social organizations

They are commercial associations or social groups focusing on investment and financing that are established according to the law upon the approval of relevant administrative authorities; They are non-profit organizations that offer finance (quasi-finance) services, think tanks, financial industry research institutes, financial training institutes/bases or financial industry associations that provide personnel training, policy study, event organization, technology R&D, product application, standard formulation and so on. They have more than 3 full-time staff members with qualification certificates or more than 3 years of practical experience in relevant fields.

3. Exceptional cases:

Any settled-in entity that fails to meet the above 2 requirements or needs an office area of over 1,000 square meters shall sign a cooperation agreement with the competent financial authority of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone or the Administrative Committee of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality.

Article 4 Any settled-in entity that does not build office building nor buy any office building (except for temporary housing) in Nansha may settle in the Cluster without rent. An office area of up to 20 square meters per person could be provided. The rent-free period and the office area shall be subject to those agreed upon at the time when it settles in the Cluster. The entity may use the rent-free office for no more than 3 years.

Article 5 Enterprises, organizations or institutions that meet the subsidy or reward criteria specified in the current effective financial support measures of Nansha will no longer be granted the office rental subsidy after settling in the Cluster.

Article 6 Settled-in entities shall report their business condition, operations, technology R&D and compliance with the regulations and rules of the Cluster on an annual basis to the Cluster's administrator for supervision and assessment.

Article 7 Settled-in entities that fall into one of the following circumstances should no longer receive the subsidy or reward specified in these Measures, and the withdrawal mechanism should start:

(I) They fail to pass the assessment and evaluation;

(II) They violate national laws, regulations or relevant disciplines, such as fraud, interception and misappropriation of funds, and false investment;

(III) They sublease, lend the office space, leave the space unused, use the office space for other purpose, or conduct other behaviors that violate the management regulations of the Cluster;

(IV) They are required by market regulatory authorities to suspend business or their business license is revoked;

(V) They are adjudged bankrupt or put into liquidation by the judicial authority;

(VI) Other matters where they are deemed not qualified for the subsidy or reward specified in these Measures by the competent financial authority of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Article 8 Support policies for enterprises, organizations or institutions that play a key leading role will be determined by the competent financial authority of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone or the Administrative Committee of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality in the light of the realities upon discussion.

Article 9 The enterprises subject to the withdrawal mechanism will be published by the competent financial authority of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone online and notified to relevant authorities of Nansha. The application of such enterprises will not be accepted within 3 years.

Article 10 If the same project or issue meets the criteria for the subsidy or reward specified in these Measures and other supporting policies of Nansha (including the policy requiring Nansha District to grant auxiliary subsidy or reward), the highest subsidy or reward shall prevail and shall be granted only once, unless otherwise stipulated in laws, regulations or policies.

Article 11 The words describing numerical values including "more than", "maximum" and "no less than" in these Measures include the base values.

Article 12 These Measures shall enter into force from the date of issuance and shall be valid until December 31, 2025. The Notice by Financial Affairs Bureau of Nansha Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality on Issuing the Administration Measures for Entities to Settle in the Mingzhu Financial Innovation Cluster in Nansha District of Guangzhou Municipality (Normative Document No. 2 [2021] of Financial Affairs Bureau of Nansha Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality) shall be abolished simultaneously. Where there is any change or adjustment to relevant laws, regulations, or policies within the validity term of these Measures, such change or adjustment shall prevail.

Form of Disclosure: Active Disclosure

Issued by Financial Affairs Bureau of Nansha Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality on September 15, 2023