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Construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Opens up Enormous Development Opportunities for Macao
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (“Greater Bay Area” or “GBA”) includes the Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macao, as well as nine cities in Guangdong, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing. By the end of 2018, the Greater Bay Area covered a total area of around 56,000 square kilometres and had a population of more than 71 million people. Its aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) reached US$1.6425 trillion and the per capita GDP was US $ 23,342 at that time.
The development of the Greater Bay Area is tactically significant in the state’s overall development. The objectives of the GBA are to further deepen the co-operation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, give full play to the comprehensive advantages of the three places, promote the deep integration of these regions, promote the synergistic development of the regional economy and build a world-class bay area that is ideal for living, doing business and travelling.
In July 2017, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Guangdong Provincial People’s Government, the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Macao SAR Government signed the “Framework Agreement on Deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Co-operation in the Development of the Greater Bay Area” in Hong Kong, which identified the key areas regarding co-operation of development of the Greater Bay Area. These areas include the enhancement of infrastructure connectivity, further market integration, the establishment of an international technology and innovation hub, the construction of a modern industrial system capable of developing in synergy, the collaborative establishment of a high quality living circle which is ideal for living, doing business and travelling, the fostering of new competitive edges that compatible with international co-operation and the support for the construction of a significant co-operation platforms.
The “Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” (hereafter referred to as “the Outline Development Plan”), which was officially launched in February 2019, strategically positions the Greater Bay Area in five major aspects: a vibrant world-class city cluster; a globally influential international innovation and technology hub; an important support pillar for the “Belt and Road” Initiative; a showcase for in-depth cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao; a quality living circle for living, working and travelling. According to the “Outline Development Plan”, four major cities, namely Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be the core engine of regional development.
Since the Leading Group for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was formed in 2018, the Central Government has offered measures facilitating Macao’s participation in promoting the construction of the Greater Bay Area. These measures involve technological innovation in the Greater Bay Area, support for the development of Chinese medicine in Macao, streamlined communication procedures and incentives that encourage Macao residents to start businesses and work in the Greater Bay Area cities. In addition, there are also facilitations for Macao citizens to develop career in the GBA, tax incentives, support for young people to start up innovation-driven businesses in the Greater Bay Area, support for science and technology development, as well as strengthening the convenient circulation of people and logistics.
IPIM’s Guangzhou Representative Office
IPIM sets up “Facilitation Services for Commercial Registration in Nine Cities of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”
Macao entrepreneurs participate in the Symposium on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area held in Tokyo, Japan
IPIM helps enterprises seize opportunities arising from the Greater Bay Area development
In recent years, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) has initiated various measures to assist local enterprises in expanding their businesses in the Greater Bay Area. These measures include enriching many large local MICE activities organised or co-organised by IPIM with increasing elements of the Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, by organising Macao enterprises to participate in MICE activities in the Greater Bay Area, IPIM helps them expand their market network and their business co-operation.
On the other hand, in March 2019, IPIM put forward the “Facilitation Services for Commercial Registration in Nine Cities of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, which assist Macao enterprises in completing commercial registration for investing or starting up business in the nine Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area. In 2020, the service area will be further expanded from the current six Greater Bay Area cites (Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing) to three more Greater Bay Area cities, namely Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou. In order to encourage Mainland enterprises, in particular those from Zhuhai and Hengqin to invest in Macao, IPIM’s Guangzhou Representative Office took the initiative and visited a number of Mainland enterprises, business associations and government departments to promote the advantages of investing in Macao. It also stay informed of the enterprises it has visited and provides them timely support. IPIM’s Guangzhou Representative Office also assists in providing “One-stop Service” for investors, “One-stop Service” for MICE Bidding and Support in Macao, as well as providing case referral and document forwarding and collection services to other departments affiliated to the Secretariat for Economy and Finance Services.
While the “Mainland and Macao Special Administrative Region Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement” (CEPA) furthers the realisation of full liberalisation of trade and services in the Greater Bay Area, it also helps local businesses and residents, especially young people, to seize opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. IPIM’s six Representative Offices on the Mainland have launched the “Programme on Recommending Macao Students at Mainland Universities to Have Internship in Local Macao-capital Enterprises” and further optimised the content of the programme by inviting more enterprises to provide quota for internship and gradually expand the scope from Macao-capital enterprises on the mainland to mainland enterprises, especially those in convention and exhibition industries, finance, science and technology sectors. The programme aims at providing Macao young people more internship opportunities which are in line with the direction of Macao’s economic development.
In order to ease Macao enterprises to invest and start businesses in the Greater Bay Area, in July 2019, the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province assigned consultants to IPIM to give answers to entrepreneurs’ questions about investing in Guangdong Province, and to assist more local enterprises to invest in the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, IPIM has joined hands with the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province to organise Macao entrepreneurs to visit GBA cities, so as to gain better insights into the business environment and development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. At the same time, while allowing them to promote Macao’s development advantage as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries and Macao’s emerging industries, exploring together business opportunities.
In addition, the Guangdong Provincial People’s Government, the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Macao SAR Government organised jointly the “Workshop on the Investment & Business Environment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” and “Symposium on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” in France (2018) and Japan (2019) respectively. In 2019, IPIM organised a delegation of 20 Macao entrepreneurs to Tokyo, Japan, to join the event. IPIM will continue to conduct collaborative promotion events with relevant economic and trade departments in Guangdong and Hong Kong, supporting Guangdong and Macao enterprises to “go global” and organise more economic and trade activities.
In order to provide enterprises more information of the Greater Bay Area, IPIM, the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Trade Development Council together launched the “Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Economic and Trade Platform” in December 2019. The Platform aims to assist enterprises from home and abroad to better understand the business environment, the latest commercial developments and investment projects in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao, to help them seize the development
