Shenzhen residents will soon be able to make more frequent trips to Hong Kong under the resumption of a multiple-entry visa scheme, which was suspended in 2015 owing to concerns about overcrowding in the city and unlicensed cross-border trade.

China has eased visa rules for Shenzhen residents traveling to Hong Kong, allowing unlimited visits within a year instead of the previous one-trip-per-week limit.

Each stay is for up to seven days, the official news agency said, with the multiple-entry visas valid for one year at a time. The announcement reinstates a multiple-entry policy from 2009 that was tightened in 2015 when China began allowing Shenzhen residents to go Hong Kong only once a week.

Move benefiting Shenzhen residents could reduce impact of Hongkongers spending across border, but businesses must ‘find right opportunities’.