Leung Chun-ying, a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and a former Hong Kong chief executive, delivers a lecture at the DBS Greater Bay Area Conference 2023 in Shenzhen on Aug 9, 2023. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area now should focus on two-way and mutual opportunities.
Leung Chun-ying — a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and a former Hong Kong chief executive — made the remarks on Wednesday at the DBS Greater Bay Area Conference 2023, held in Shenzhen.
Hong Kong has many new functions that haven’t been extensively discussed in the past, in addition to its well-known advantages of international financial, trade, and shipping
Leung emphasized his belief that Hong Kong should introduce more measures to attract mainland professionals and funds, just as local governments in Guangdong province have created incentives to attract professionals and investments to their jurisdictions.
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For instance, he said, the Nansha district in Guangzhou has implemented various preferential policies to lure Hong Kong’s capital investment and talents for entrepreneurial endeavors. He found, however, that Hong Kong lacks corresponding policies. Hong Kong could also consider adopting similar policies for the south part of the Lok Ma Chau Loop to draw in mainland professionals, he said.
Referring to the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme, which provides subsidies for Hong Kong university students working in Guangdong, Leung said Hong Kong could also release incentives to attract Guangdong professionals to work in Hong Kong and further their careers, achieving a two-way flow.
He said that two years ago, Nansha established the Consultative Committee on Guangdong-Hong Kong Cooperation (Guangzhou Nansha), a platform to gather both mainland and Hong Kong experts to provide advice and recommendations. He said that the special administrative region government might consider a similar move and take a step it hasn’t taken yet — appointing mainland experts from Guangdong to some government advisory committees in Hong Kong. This would create a two-way exchange of insights, he said.
He also said that as Hong Kong vehicles are allowed to travel to Guangdong through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Hong Kong should allow some mainland vehicles to enter certain areas in Hong Kong, such as Lantau Island. The vehicle policy shouldn’t be strictly one-way, he said.
Moreover, he said, Hong Kong has many new functions that haven’t been extensively discussed in the past, in addition to its well-known advantages of international financial, trade, and shipping.
Hong Kong’s new services, including branding, testing, and logistics, can certainly contribute to the high-quality development of cities in the Greater Bay Area, he said.
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Sebastian Paredes, head of North Asia of DBS, and CEO of DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd, pointed out there is still a diverse range of industries and sectors in Guangdong that Hong Kong businesses do not have access to, and now is the perfect time to encourage graduates to explore and learn about different industries and be part of the growth engine of the Pearl Delta region.
Recognizing the abundant opportunities presented by the GBA, DBS Bank has created a regional view to strategically look at the business development in the region in the past five years. The chairman said the bank’s business has grown twice as much as the business of DBS China and DBS Hong Kong as it was alone, and GBA has surpassed its goals despite COVID-19.
Paredes, who is also the chairman of DBS (China) Ltd, said that the bank is establishing its third global technology center in the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City in Guangzhou, striving to hire 2,000 engineers and develop more innovative fintech solutions.
Contact the writer at grace@chinadailyhk.com
