A study into Guangdong's industrial restructuring and its impact on Hong Kong will be undertaken by the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council.

It will be one of the two such studies, and along with the council's five working groups, is aimed at preventing Hong Kong from being marginalized by the rapid development of the region.

The five working groups are on cross-boundary passenger and cargo flow, joint investment and trade promotion, sustainable development, technology, education and human resources and service industry development.

The first study was started to gauge the development of the Pearl River Delta West region and its impact on Hong Kong and its economy.

After council's first meeting of its second term yesterday, council Chairman Victor Fung said Hong Kong should be prepared for challenges even in peaceful times.

The council was set up in 2004 to provide a forum for exchange of information and ideas between Hong Kong and Guangdong, especially on how to broaden the scope of economic cooperation between the two. The council complements the government-to-government framework of the Hong Kong-Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference, too, to foster closer cooperation in the region.

Fung said it was necessary to study the industrial restructuring of Guangdong and how Hong Kong could cooperate with that.

"It's not enough to merely implement the decisions made under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). We have to look at how our service industry cooperates with the mainland," Fung said.

Discussing if Hong Kong would be marginalized by the rapid development in the PRD region, the council felt that though the city had a competitive edge in a lot of areas, it needed to be prepared for challenges, Fung said.

"Hong Kong needs to further develop its software (the service industry and human resources) and integrate with the PRD region to maintain its competitive edge. That would ensure that the city is not marginalized in the future," he said.

Fung hoped work on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao-Bridge could be started as early as possible, for the bridge was crucial to the growth of both Hong Kong and the whole PRD region. There are some technical problems with the construction, Fung said, but progress had been made to deal with them.

Editor: Yan