HKGCC, together with KPMG China and HSBC, conducted a third annual Greater Bay Area (GBA) survey in 2019. At a webinar on 7 April entitled "Keys to Success in The Greater Bay Area", Maggie Lee, Partner, Head of Capital Markets Development Group, Hong Kong, KPMG China, and David Harrity, Head of Growth Propositions, Commercial Banking Hong Kong, HSBC, shared the key finding of the survey and their insights on the responses from businesses in Hong Kong and other GBA cities.

Lee noted that 80% of respondents expect the GBA economy to grow faster than rest of China within the next three years. Harrity forecasted that the GDP of GBA might reach US$4.6 trillion by 2030. Claudia Xu, Chief Commercial Officer, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, also joined the discussion and shared how pursuing talent is a priority for the Science Parks in order to best equip Hong Kong to be a world-class talent pool to contribute to the development of the GBA.

China Committee Chairman Petrina Tam, along with Vice Chairmen SH Chan and Edmond Yew, led a delegation to visit Jiangmen and Zhongshan on 19 and 20 September. The purpose of the visit was to give the delegates the opportunity to study the two cities’ smart manufacturing industry. The delegation visited multiple enterprises -- including Lee Kum Kee, Xin Baotang, and Hongrita -- to see the factories’ highly automated and advanced production lines. The visitors also learnt about the latest economic, business and trade developments in Jiangmen and Zhongshan over dinners with Jiangmen Vice Mayor Cai Dewei and Zhongshan Vice Mayor Lei Yuelong. During the mission, members also visited the Jiangmen Wuyi Museum of Overseas Chinese, where they learned more about the history of overseas Chinese around the world since the 19th century.

Impressed by the rapid development of Longgang, Shenzhen during an April mission, the Chamber re-ran a visit to Longgang in July so that members could learn more about the development of the district. HKGCC was invited by Xie Xiaobiao, Executive Chairman of the Shenzhen Association of Trade in Services, to join the Modern Service Industry Seminar Longgang, Shenzhen hosted by the Commerce Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality and Longgang Government. As one of the co-organizers of the seminar, the Chamber organized a 26-member delegation to join the event on 18 July to further deepen the cooperation between HKGCC members and companies in Longgang. Petrina Tam, Chairman of China Committee, spoke at the seminar.

Since the masterplan to transform the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) into a global economic powerhouse was rolled out two years ago, a much-anticipated blueprint for the region was finally released by the Chinese government in February. Over the past two years, there has been an explosion of investor interest in the area. At a lunchtime seminar on 16 July, Reed Hatcher, Head of Research, and Queeny So, Executive Director, Capital Markets, China from Cushman & Wakefield spoke on the most exciting markets and asset classes to watch for in the real estate investment scene. In their presentations, the speakers covered some noteworthy opportunities brought on by the vibrant Tier-1 cities in the GBA including Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. They also shared some of their insights on property investment trends in the GBA, as well as the reasons behind the rising investment interest for properties, particularly in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, arising from the government blueprint.