“Guangdong’s pursuit of high-quality development provides unlimited business opportunities for domestic and overseas companies including Hong Kong enterprises,” said Wang Weizhong, the governor of the southern Chinese province. “We hope that Hong Kong companies will bring capital, technologies and management to strengthen cooperation.”
To achieve that goal, Wang said the province was focusing on hi-tech industries, such as digital information, new materials and renewable energy, while at the same time maintaining the key role of its manufacturing sector.
Hong Kong businesses have set up 210,000 entities in Guangdong, accounting for 70 per cent of the overseas companies in the province, while those from Guangdong have established some 9,000 companies in the financial hub, according to Lee.
The forum has been organised and supported by a number of Hong Kong government departments including the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
Around 70 Hong Kong businesses set up booths to introduce products and services that the city can provide in areas like professional services, tech innovation and design. Businesses from both sides also took part in a session to match partners.
Since the borders reopened between Hong Kong and the mainland in February, governments and businesses have embarked on numerous trips and meetings, including Lee’s visit to four cities in the bay area.
As part of the enhanced cooperation between the Greater Bay Area cities, Tang Ping-keung, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, on Wednesday led a team on a two-day trip to Guangzhou, Dongguan and Huizhou. He is expected to meet his local counterparts in these cities and visit companies specialising in innovation and technology.
The Greater Bay Area, with a population of 86 million, is one of the most developed regions in China and a leading manufacturing and export hub. The region’s economy at US$2 trillion now is the same size as Italy’s, according to Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.
