Greater Bay Area

Hong Kong insurers launched a marine war-risk pool, exemplifying collaboration to benefit the local economy and the nation. Industry leaders discussed enhancing financial resilience in the Greater Bay Area during the South China Morning Post’s China Conference.

The South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited co-hosted a C-Suite roundtable during the Summer Davos event, featuring a keynote from Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan and guest speakers Clara Chan of HKIC and Charles Lee of PwC. The event highlighted global investor alignment on the future of the Greater Bay Area.

Asean countries aim to deepen supply chain integration with the Greater Bay Area to access advanced technologies and manufacturing expertise, with Hong Kong set to benefit. The GBA-Asean Summit 2026 highlighted artificial intelligence and green technology as key cooperation areas, emphasizing open data flows and digital standards.

East Timor aims to leverage closer ties between Asean and China’s Greater Bay Area to drive investment and technology opportunities. The nation’s Vice Prime Minister Francisco Kalbuadi Lay emphasized the need for policies ensuring inclusive and sustainable growth through regional collaboration.

The Philippines is positioning itself as a gateway for Greater Bay Area businesses into Southeast Asia, according to Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, who highlighted the country's young, digitally fluent workforce to attract investors.

Hong Kong's leader John Lee stated the city is positioned to connect ASEAN with the Greater Bay Area and build a complementary partnership amid geopolitical shifts. The statement was made at the GBA-Asean Summit 2026, where a new ASEAN chamber of commerce in Hong Kong was launched.

Hong Kong launched a public consultation for its first five-year plan, aligning with mainland China’s 15th five-year plan for 2026–2030. The plan aims to strengthen Hong Kong’s role as an international financial hub and advance projects like the Northern Metropolis and Greater Bay Area while maintaining a free-market economy.

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stated the city can surpass New York and Silicon Valley by combining global financial expertise with tech innovation and manufacturing via the Greater Bay Area. He highlighted Hong Kong's unique advantage in advanced manufacturing integration, which US rivals lack.

The article discusses how the China's Greater Bay Area (GBA) has remained a stable investment destination amid global geopolitical risks, including trade wars and military conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. It highlights the GBA's transformation into a global contender through innovation and integration.

Hong Kong is expanding its Southbound Travel Scheme for Guangdong Vehicles to include five more Greater Bay Area cities, increasing the number of eligible mainland cities from four to nine. The daily quota for urban trips will also double to 200 starting July 25.

Yuan Gujie, the new deputy director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, has a legal background and experience in Guangdong province, signaling a push for deeper integration with the Greater Bay Area. The article suggests Hong Kong’s current legal framework may need overhauling to accelerate development in the Northern Metropolis.

Beijing's top official on Hong Kong and Macau affairs, Xia Baolong, visited the Hengqin cooperation zone in Zhuhai to promote integration with the 15th five-year plan. This was his third trip to the Greater Bay Area this year, where he toured a university town, research institutes, and innovation and technology companies.

Hong Kong is promoting the Northern Metropolis as a platform to connect ASEAN businesses with opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. A government-led tour brought a nearly 70-person delegation of Southeast Asian diplomats, chamber representatives, and business leaders to the development project.

Beijing appointed Yuan Gujie as deputy director of its Hong Kong liaison office. Yuan, a former senior Guangdong official, replaces Liu Guangyuan, who is expected to retire. The liaison office is led by director Zhou Ji and four deputies.

Hong Kong-born biomedical imaging expert King Li King-chuen has been appointed as the founding dean of the University of Science and Technology's third medical school. He previously served as dean emeritus of Carle Illinois College of Medicine and will collaborate with partners in the city and the Greater Bay Area to cultivate physician-innovators.

Hong Kong industry leaders urge improvements to immigration procedures, mooring facilities, and niche tourism itineraries to grow the yacht economy, following Beijing’s policy allowing Hong Kong and Macau yachts to enter mainland ports without guarantees.

Hong Kong-registered yachts can now berth more easily in designated mainland Chinese ports in the Greater Bay Area due to waived customs guarantees and simplified administrative procedures. The State Council revised maritime policies to allow Hong Kong and Macau leisure yachts to enter these ports without customs guarantees and under a temporary vessel nationality registration policy.

Health leaders emphasized the need for greater cost clarity, stronger coordination between public and private sectors, and comprehensive patient support at the Prudential Health Summit. The event, organized by Prudential Hong Kong, brought together healthcare experts, providers, regulators, and patient advocates from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to discuss improving care.

Over 70% of Greater Bay Area firms are cautious about hiring, planning minimal expansion, but there is strong demand for hybrid professionals combining technology and management skills, according to a survey by KOS International and Guangzhou-based Sun.

Hong Kong’s first astronaut will use a locally developed observatory on the Tiangong space station to monitor greenhouse gas emissions. The imaging equipment will help identify emission sources and intensities, aiding carbon reduction efforts in the Greater Bay Area and mainland China.