PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, and Zhuhai Da Hengqin Technology Development Company (DHQ Tech) which is headquartered in Hengqin, China, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly turn Hengqin, one of China's Pilot Free Trade Zones, into a "Smart City", offering superior quality of life for its residents as well as an exciting and innovative business environment.
Hengqin, located 34 sea miles from Hong Kong, offers massive trade and business potential. It is optimally located, covering an area of 106.46 square kilometers and is less than an hour from Hong Kong via the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.
PCCW Global and DHQ Tech plan to develop Hengqin into a global business and communications hub, and to position Hengqin as one of the world's leading Internet business environments to attract foreign investment and to support enterprise customers, new start-ups and hi-tech research and development centers with the latest ICT technologies. The collaboration will leverage PCCW Global's advanced international infrastructure to maximum advantage in order to position Hengqin as a strategic gateway for China to communicate with the rest of the world, and for the rest of the world to communicate and trade with China.
PCCW Global will assist in the design of world-leading smart city infrastructure, including operations, ICT consultancy, and regional mobile payment services that will facilitate international enterprises for development in Hengqin. PCCW Global will also serve to support all smart government, smart tourist, big data, smart education, smart health, and safe city initiatives.
Mr. Marc Halbfinger, Chief Executive Officer of PCCW Global, said, "PCCW Global's technological know-how and vast international infrastructure will be key to further developing Hengqin as a globally leading Smart City. As a global telecommunications company, we are also excited by the opportunities Hengqin will bring to the region, and thus we are studying the feasibility of setting up a new local office in the Hengqin Pilot Free Trade Zone."