During a interview with southcn.com, Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong SAR Government Chief Executive admitted that “Belt and Road” Initiative and the plan of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area both are new opportunities for Hong Kong, and believed that Hong Kong should take advantage of “One Country, Two System” Policy and seize these opportunities to gain impetus to develop itself.

Earlier in April this year during a trip to Guangdong province to discuss issues related to Beijing’s plan for joint development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area, Leung said that Hong Kong can play a key role in fulfilling China’s goals under the Greater Bay Area plan, given its established strengths as an international city.

During the interview, Leung pointed out that when planning its future development, Hong Kong should consider “what the nation needs and what Hong Kong is good at”.

Hong Kong’s advantages mainly lie in finance and professional services, strengths that make the place stand out from the other cities in the Bay Area, and the city has always been a conduit for channeling ODI from the mainland, as well as attracting foreign direct investment into the mainland over the last two decades.

What’s more, Leung indicated that Hong Kong has a long history in international communication with rich sources in global connections, thus Hong Kong can help look for oversea sources in funds, products, scientific research power and so on that are needed in mainland.

Leung Chun-ying

Hong Kong Chief Executive

Hong Kong's role in directing the mainland's outward investments will be further cemented by the Belt and Road Initiative and the city's participation will further stimulate its economic growth.”

When mentioning Hong Kong companies investing in Guangdong, Fok Ying Tung Group is one inevitable representative. Recently, Eric Fok Kai-shan, Vice President of the Fok Ying Tung Group, received an interview talking about Fok Ying Tung Group’s involvement and efforts in Guangdong-Hong Kong development.

“The construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be beneficial for three places, and more global high-end talents will be attracted here. Our group will continue to support Nansha’s endeavor on establishing itself a livable place,” Eric said.

Eric insisted that Guangdong is a pioneer for the reform and opening-up in China and it owns a very good business environment. The cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangdong has been continuously upgraded by Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference, CEPA, the co-construction of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone and the coming plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

As a Hong Kong businessman with investment in Guangdong, Eric needs to travel between Hong Kong and Guangzhou every week. Eric cheered for convenient transportation between Hong Kong and Guangdong now. He took Nansha as an example. Now people can go to Hong Kong from Nansha Ferry Terminal directly by ferry and it will take only 28 minutes through Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway which will be open next year.

Eric Fok Kai-shan

Vice President of the Fok Ying Tung Group

He is also a member of Guangdong province's political advisory body

The soon-to-be-developed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge and Humen 2nd Bridge will speed up the integration of Hong Kong and Guangdong and accelerate the cooperation and communication between the two places.”

As a post-80’s entrepreneur from Hong Kong, Chan Sing has quite a full daily schedule just like his peers who start business in Shenzhen, “now none of my companies are in Hong Kong”.

Inspired by the inundant trend of e-pay in the mainland, Chan determined to transfer his business to Guangdong, and registered an IT company Ekstech developing searching engine systems for cross-border e-commerce in Qianhai Free Trade Zone in 2015.

Thanks to the closer connection between Guangdong and Hong Kong, Chan cheered for the benefits that have been brought to his company.

At present some of his colleagues in Hong Kong are responsible in product design and marketing, while colleagues in Shenzhen do more about technical parts and sales.

This has become a common mode for Hong Kong-invested companies in Guangdong, so that they can take full use of two places’ advantages. more>>

Chan Sing

Head of Ekstech Limited Company

Secretary-General of Young Professionals Alliance

Without the win-win cooperation between the two places (Hong Kong and Guangdong), my company would not exist at all.”

China Hotel, one of the five-star hotels that opened in Guangzhou in the 1980s, is located right next to the Liuhua Complex, which is once a main exhibition venue of China’s largest trade fair, Canton Fair. Thus, this hotel has flourished with the area and witnessed the close connection between Guangdong and Hong Kong for over 30 years, said Arics Lam, General Manager of China Hotel.

With its excellent geographical location, China Hotel received many inbound guests in the 1980s and 1990s, many of whom were from Hong Kong and Macao. Among them, a great many are celebrities and political VIPs from Hong Kong, according to Lam.

Apart from that, Guangzhou was a very important window city in China, many people flied to Guangzhou via Hong Kong first, and then transferred to other cities in mainland China, Lam said.

As a result, the hotel provides more than 120 round-trip shuttle buses towards Hong Kong, Macao and Baiyun Airport every day, offering convenience for the guests coming and going between Guangdong and Hong Kong. more>>

Arics Lam

General Manager of China Hotel

Numerous Hong Kong people, including the investors, their staff, friends and partners, would stay in China Hotel when they came to Guangzhou to attend the Canton Fair or to promote their products.”