A one-day forum on finance, science, technology, innovation and industrial integration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) was held at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf yesterday.
Organized by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area Entrepreneurs Union, the forum pooled together government and business representatives as well as experts and scholars in the three regions to offer their advice on the industrial integration and development of the GBA, which comprises nine cities in Guangdong as well as the nation’s two special administrative regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macau.
MSAR Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said in a video message that the forum could further help the industrial world build a platform for sharing experiences and exploring frontier technologies, so as to inject new vitality into the scientific and technological industrial consolidation in the GBA.
Ho welcomed entrepreneurs in the GBA to invest in Macau and the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in a video message that finance, innovation, science and technology are all development priorities for Hong Kong and Macau, which boast limitless potential in promoting cooperation between the two SARs and the integration of Hong Kong into the nation’s overall development.
Zhang Xin, vice governor of Guangdong, said the province would continue supporting the union to better leverage its platform advantages to promote the integrated development of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.
The union’s members include representatives of major chambers of commerce and enterprises in the three regions, covering traditional industries, high-tech, the high-end service industry as well as business management services with different sources of funding from Hong Kong, other regions and countries, and the mainland.
The GBA, which was set up by the State Council in 2017, has a population of about 86 million (about the same as Germany, the world’s fourth biggest economy), covering 56,000 square kilometres. Its GDP amounted to US$1.95 billion last year, when GDP per capita stood at US$22,585, according to the InvestHK website.
– Xinhua, MPD
