2018-01-16

China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable: Guangdong-HK-Macao Greater Bay Area: Prospects for Hong Kong

Melody Hong

China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable: Guangdong-HK-Macao Greater Bay Area: Prospects for Hong Kong

16 Jan 2018, Hong Kong: Co-organized by Asian Financial Forum and China Daily, a co-branded session on “Guangdong-HK-Macao Greater Bay Area: Prospects for Hong Kong” held from 09:45-10:45 on Jan 16, 2018. This marks the 7th consecutive year that China Daily has been positioned as Media Partner for this most influential industry event.

China Daily is delighted to have five distinguished speakers: Ms. Ginger CHENG, Managing Director, Head, Large and Mid-cap Corporates, Institutional Banking Group, DBS Bank (China) Limited; Ms. Susie CHEUNG, Founder Member and Co-Convenor, Asia-Pacific Structured Finance Association; Mr. DING Lei, Chief Innovation Officer, HNA Innovation Finance Group; Ms. Jing ULRICH, Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific, JP Morgan Chase & Co.; and Mr. ZHANG Yuge, Director, Center for Hong Kong and Macao Studies, China Development Institute.

Ms. Ginger CHENG said that Hong Kong needs to think about how we can catch the flow of capital, the flow of talents and the flow goods. Then use the Great Bay Area initiative as a stepping-stone to further develop Hong Kong. In terms of financing services, now the policy is not very encouraging for innovations. That is what Hong Kong needs to catch up a little bit.

Ms. Susie CHEUNG said that small and medium-sized enterprises on Chinese mainland have faced quite a lot of challenges when comes to borrowing money, meanwhile, large infrastructure projects are also encountered with difficulties of fund raising. Many of them are tapping into the capital market through securitization, Hong Kong, as an international financial hub with its professionals, should provide help and support for these SMEs and infrastructure projects to raise fund, particularly for those in the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area and those that related to the “Belt and Road” initiative.

Mr. DING Lei said that if we look at the import and export for the past three years, Hong Kong takes half of the import in Bay Area, and the bay area import accounts for 60 to 70 percent of total imports in China. Given the sheer size of exports and imports, there are much room we can tapped into based on commodity trading, warehousing and logistics, which are most related to the real economy.

Ms. Jing ULRICH said that as mainland is challenging Unite States in many areas now in terms of technology innovation, cloud computing and AI. Greater bay area can plays to its strengthen by becoming a key technology hub in this new initiative called digital belt and road.

Mr. ZHANG Yuge said that the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area is central government’s policy arrangement to allow Hong Kong and Macao better exploring the market in Guangdong province. Chinese mainland markets are still partially limited from Hong Kong services industry, and the Bay Area is the special policy arrangement that lift these limitations.

With the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge due to start carrying traffic in early 2018, the Pearl River Delta region will move towards a balanced and integrated development, elevating the Greater Bay Area economy to a new level, and with the development of the Greater Bay Area increasingly becoming the focus of attention. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) emphasized the need to support the integration of Hong Kong and Macao into the country’s overall development, and has given greater confidence to the development of Hong Kong and Macao. As the Greater Bay Area evolves and powers the country’s economy through a new platform for financial cooperation, Hong Kong is working to position as a “Finance-Plus-Innovation” hub. The Greater Bay Area has given enormous opportunities for Hong Kong, which is poised to benefit from the bright future arising from the bay area’s development.

The seminar explored how Hong Kong’s financial sector can leverage on the opportunities that the Greater Bay Area offers to achieve greater regional integration and faster growth. Industry gurus shared their thoughts and first-hand experience on the hot topic with more than 200 delegates.

About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable
The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia.


Media Contact:
Ms. Melody Hong
Tel: (852) 3465 5427
Email: melody@chinadailyhk.com

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