Business from Shenzhen and Hong Kong are capitalizing on the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with plans to build shopping centers in Shenzhen.

The Futian district government and a local company are working on setting up a CEPA theme shopping mall in the Huaqiangbei business area.

"We plan to open the mall before June. One of the pressing tasks now is attracting businesses from Hong Kong, since all the stalls (in the mall) will be run by Hong Kongers selling zero-tariff goods from the (SAR) territory," said a spokesperson for the district's economic and trade bureau Monday.

The mall will cover an area of 12,000 square meters with 600 shops.

In another development, four local agencies and the Hong Kong International Chamber of Commerce will work together to build a zero-tariff shopping plaza near the intersection of Lianhua Road and Jingtian Road in Futian District.

Developers called the plaza "the new Zhongying Street," referring to a popular business street bordering Shenzhen and Hong Kong, where mainland shoppers can visit shops on the Hong Kong side. An official of the developers said his organization wanted to use Shenzhen as a distributor of zero-tariff goods from Hong Kong.

Another local company, the Shenzhen International Corporation, also plans to open a CEPA shopping center in the International Arcade on Shangbu Road, leasing 200 booths to Hong Kong proprietors.

(Shenzhen Daily February 10, 2004)