Advanced producer services industries in Hong Kong and Shenzhen: Struggles towards integration 走向艰难整合的香港－深圳现代服务业

Abstract

AbstractThe path towards a closer integration in Advanced Producer Services (APS) industries between Hong Kong and Shenzhen has been difficult despite favorable locational factors. Based on the authors' long‐term and extensive working experience in the APS sectors in the Pearl River Delta, combined with in‐depth interviews with senior officers of companies who are APS providers in Hong Kong in 2009, this paper will examine the factors, both tangible and intangible as in institutional and non‐institutional, regulatory and non‐regulatory, as well as legal, governmental, social and cultural, which affect and resist APS integration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The findings suggest that the integration of APS between Hong Kong and Shenzhen has been greatly impeded by unfavourable institutional factors that have overwhelmed locational advantages. There are substantial inhibitions against free competition in the China marketplace including non‐regulatory and intangible inhibitions, embodied by local protectionism, heavy reliance on guanxi, rampant insider games and nepotism, excessive bureaucracy, an inadequate legal system, pervasive rent seeking and so forth that block integration between the two cities. The paper will also examine the Qianhai Free Trade Service Zone, the ambitious initiative made by the Shenzhen government to promote APS cooperation between the two areas.摘要提升香港、深圳两地现代服务业（高端生产性服务业）的融合，受两地政府、学者、及商业团体热烈支持。两地地域的接近，经济互补性，及人民的紧密联系，都鼓励经济融合。然而地域优势不能令所有经济活动相同受益，而两地边界对不同人及行业的阻碍，分别很大。根据作者在珠三角的工作经验及在二零零九年在香港对业内资深行政人员所作的访问，此论文探讨影响两地高端服务业融合的各方面因素，包括制度、惯例、法规、法制、政府管治、社会及文化等。调查指出内地不利的制度及惯例因素全面压倒地域的优势，严重阻碍市场竞争及两地高端服务业的融合，特别是非监管和无形的限制，地方保护主义，严重依赖关系，猖獗的内幕交易和裙带关系，过度的官僚主义，缺乏适当的法律制度及明晰的监管规章，选择性执法的法律，缺乏非市场机制，普遍的利润垄断等，完全阻隔两地经济结合，其不利影响，极之深邃。本文还对深圳政府在前海设立自由贸易服务区以推动两地高端服务业的合作，作出探讨。