“It is an honor to become the first international accounting firm to establish a presence in Dongguan. This is a significant step in deepening our layout in the Greater Bay Area,” said Li Jialin, Vice Chairman of KPMG China and Chief Partner of South China, at a recent Dongguan and Multinational Corporations Cooperation Conference.
As one of the Big Four international accounting firms, KPMG is both a participant and promoter of Dongguan’s investment attraction efforts. For three consecutive years, KPMG has been appointed as Dongguan’s global investment partner and is the first international accounting firm to set up in Dongguan. Li Jialin stated that Dongguan is both a major city with an outward-looking economy and a young city. KPMG China is vigorously assisting Dongguan in cultivating emerging and future industries, providing support for its global layout. “In the future, KPMG China will continue to play the role of connector and tell Dongguan’s story well.”
Li Jialin, Vice Chairman of KPMG China and Chief Partner of South China
Appointed for three consecutive years as Dongguan’s global investment partner
Manufacturing-developed Dongguan has always been committed to addressing the shortcomings in the development of modern high-end services. In 2020, the city’s Investment Promotion Bureau actively engaged with KPMG, signing the “KPMG Dongguan Project Cooperation Framework Agreement” in November of that year. In May 2021, at Dongguan’s Investment Promotion Conference, Dongguan and KPMG signed the Global Investment Partner Work Agreement, appointing KPMG as Dongguan’s global investment partner. Subsequently, in December 2021, KPMG became the first international accounting firm to establish a presence in Dongguan.
Founded in 1897, KPMG is one of the world’s top accounting professional service firms, specializing in audit, tax, and advisory services. KPMG is also one of the Big Four international accounting firms. In 1992, KPMG became the first international accounting firm permitted to establish a Sino-foreign joint venture in mainland China.
Since becoming one of Dongguan’s first global investment partners, KPMG has actively promoted Dongguan externally, striving to build multi-party cooperation platforms and participating in and promoting Dongguan’s investment attraction efforts. As the first international accounting firm to establish a presence in Dongguan, KPMG China has combined Dongguan’s industrial status and upgrading needs to help drive high-quality economic development in Dongguan, witnessing and contributing to its economic growth.
For example, Dongguan’s financial industry is currently in a period of strategic opportunity, and KPMG China hopes to leverage its industry experience to build communication bridges and strengthen the interconnection between Dongguan and the financial sectors of Hong Kong and Macau. In February 2023, under the introduction of KPMG China, the Dongguan municipal government, along with the Dongguan Investment Promotion Bureau and the Nancheng Subdistrict, engaged in communication with the Bank of East Asia, ultimately reaching a further strategic cooperation consensus.
Li Jialin said that facing the highly competitive domestic and international market environment, Dongguan should learn from the experience and models of advanced regions, explore innovation in the “industry-finance-investment” collaboration, research and formulate more Dongguan-specific investment policies, and deepen cooperation with Hong Kong to continuously expand high-level opening-up.
In December 2021, KPMG China became the first international accounting firm to establish a presence in Dongguan.
Dongguan is the first prefecture-level city in the Greater Bay Area where KPMG China provides services.
“KPMG China is honored to be the first international accounting firm to establish a presence in Dongguan,” said Li Jialin. “We maintain close interactions with Dongguan enterprises, maximizing the effectiveness of professional service institutions and adding momentum to Dongguan's economic development.”
As one of the Big Four international accounting firms, KPMG generally opens branches in first-tier cities and provincial capitals. Dongguan is the first prefecture-level city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area where KPMG China provides audit, tax, and advisory services.
KPMG’s decision to settle in Dongguan signifies an upgrade in the region’s high-end service industry and fully reflects KPMG’s confidence in Dongguan’s future. According to reports, since the establishment of KPMG’s Dongguan office in 2021, the team size has nearly tripled, with more than half of the members being returnees from overseas or Hong Kong.
“Over the years, Dongguan has continuously enhanced its comprehensive strength by accelerating new industrialization, showcasing its unique ‘siphon effect’ in attracting investments as a ‘dual 10,000-billion city’,” said Li Jialin. It is due to Dongguan’s relentless efforts to create a first-class business environment, propelling enterprises to higher levels of development, and providing fertile ground for various projects to flourish, that it has over 1.7 million market entities. This total has ranked first among prefecture-level cities in the province for 12 consecutive years and has attracted investments from over 80 Fortune 500 companies.
Li Jialin pointed out that with more than half of the team being returnees, KPMG Dongguan is even more confident in telling the story of Dongguan as the “World’s Factory” and the “dual 10,000-billion city,” showcasing the youthful appearance of a major outward-looking economy with an average resident age of less than 35 years. He stated that KPMG China will continue to deeply engage in Dongguan’s development, vigorously assisting in the cultivation of emerging and future industries, promoting innovation and transformation in local enterprises, enhancing economic efficiency, and providing multi-faceted support for its global layout, thereby contributing to Dongguan's momentum towards becoming a mega-city.
