The huge opportunities that are emerging as a result of the Greater Bay Area initiative are increasingly attracting the attention of overseas companies. Although the GBA development has achieved much easier flows of talent, goods and capital between Hong Kong and the Mainland, many foreign investors are not sure about the relevant regulations. To help members understand more, Helen Liao, partner at Deacons, explained the latest policy developments in employment, talent and taxation in the GBA applicable to foreign companies, at a webinar on 14 October. She also touched upon other topics of interest to foreign firms considering investing in this economic powerhouse, such as the fastest growing industries, employment prospects and salary trends.

KPMG China Tax experts Murray Sarelius and Daniel Hui briefed members on the individual tax incentives and shared their insights on workforce planning in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) with Chamber members at the HKGCC 11 September webinar. They covered issues related to GBA talent policies, workforce planning and tax refund arrangements as well as individual tax planning.

Financial services in the GBA received a further boost recently with a new guideline containing 30 articles, issued by the Mainland government with the aim of promoting the sector. At a Chamber webinar on 3 August, three experts shared their thoughts on the impact of the new guideline and the wider development of financial services across the GBA.

Florence Yip, Asia Pacific Tax Leader Financial Services, Asset & Wealth Management, PwC Hong Kong, shared the findings of a recent PwC report. The survey revealed that the three key elements for companies to succeed in the GBA are talent, data and capital. Dixon Wong, Head of Financial Services at Invest Hong Kong, and Esmond Lee, CEO, Euroclear Bank Hong Kong Branch, also discussed the future direction of the financial services industry in the GBA. Wong said that wealth management, offshore RMB business, ESG investment and fintech are some of the key areas of focus among the opportunities within the sector. Lee noted that Hong Kong's foreign exchange market is an extremely important part of the range of financial services that the city can provide for the GBA.
 

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.