The Mainland’s development has undergone remarkable changes and reforms in the past decade and emerged as the world’s second largest economy.

New fuel has been added with the recently concluded 19th CPC National Congress, fostering new thinking, new ideas and charting new directions for the country. China is set to enter another new era of development. Senior Mainland officials that members met during the Chamber’s high-level mission to Beijing last month were bullish on reaching the national goal of becoming a “great modern socialist country” by 2050.

Hong Kong has an important role to play in achieving this objective, given our international connections, rule of law and expertise in financial and professional services. While the Mainland’s productivity has skyrocketed in recent years, Hong Kong businesses still have a value-added role to play in facilitating the restructuring processes.

In his report to the 19th CPC National Congress, President Xi Jinping spoke of the need for Hong Kong to be incorporated into the national development blueprint, especially in relation to the Greater Bay Area (GBA) initiative, which is expected to play a complementary role to support the colossal Belt and Road (OBOR) strategy. In our meeting with the Ministry of Commerce, we learned that in the first three quarters of 2017 alone, Mainland enterprises had invested US$9.6 billion in 64 countries along the OBOR. In addition, 75 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones have been set up in 44 countries and regions along the Belt and Road, and about 3,400 Chinese companies have set up operations in the zones.

While the OBOR may sound too daunting for smaller Hong Kong companies for the time being, closer to home, the GBA development definitely offers tremendous opportunities for the local business community. With a combined GDP of approximately US$1.3 trillion, the GBA is in the same rank as the Greater Tokyo Area (GDP US$1.8 trillion) and New York (GDP US$1.7 trillion).

However, the GBA has a far larger population of almost 67 million, compared to 44 million and 8.6 million in Tokyo and New York respectively. It also covers a far greater land mass. As we learned while in Beijing, the GBA is looking for solutions to crucial issues, such as waste management, housing, elderly care, and youngsters’ career development. These provide opportunities for Hong Kong. As GBA cities strive to achieve their individual objectives, Hong Kong is the platform for R&D development and financing. This would complement, for example, Shenzhen’s world leading innovative technologies and the region’s high-end manufacturing capabilities.

The re-positioning of cities within the GBA and new level of cooperation should help Hong Kong’s further development into an international asset management centre and corporate treasury hub. However, the prerequisite will be to create a critical mass of Mainland enterprises (both SOEs and private companies) locating in Hong Kong. The success of the GBA initiative will also rely on having a free flow of talent, capital and information across the region.

As we embark on 2018, may I wish all of you a happy and prosperous New Year, and assure you that your Chamber will be working hard in the months ahead to help members understand more about how Hong Kong can participate in the GBA and OBOR initiatives