Governor of Guangdong Province Wang Weizhong and main guests
The “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Europe Economic and Trade Co-operation Conference” was held on 6 September in Munich, Germany, jointly hosted by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and the Macao Special Administrative Region Government.
The conference was attended by approximately 500 officials of governments and economic departments and business elites, including leaders of the governments and economic and trade departments in Hong Kong, Macao, and the nine cities of the Greater Bay Area (GBA); as well as delegates from the German business sectors. President of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) Vincent U introduced the attendees to the GBA investment environment and Macao’s business advantages.
At the conference, a Macao enterprise signed an agreement with an EU enterprise to introduce a digital tour exhibition project to the Chinese mainland, making its mainland debut in the GBA. Besides, some Macao enterprises assigned the delegates from their Portuguese branches to participate in business talks on-site, helping the GBA enterprises tap into the EU market through Macao’s networking platform.
Inviting European enterprises to invest in Greater Bay Area
Vincent U introduced the GBA business environment at the conference, stating that the GBA, which includes the nine cities in Guangdong, as well as Hong Kong and Macao, has a population of over 86 million and a GDP exceeding RMB 13 trillion. With a continuously-increasing middle class population, the GBA is an ideal destination for overseas investors to open up the Chinese market. Moreover, Macao has its distinctive advantages as a commercial and trade service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, as well as a series of new investment opportunities brought about by Macao’s development of the four key emerging industries. As one of the four “core cities” in the GBA, Macao also leverages its role as a “core engine” to boost the development of its adjoining regions. The business associations and economic and trade departments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, including IPIM, are all fully prepared to provide service for German investors and help German enterprises develop in the GBA.
The speakers at the event included Wang Weizhong, Governor of Guangdong Province; Tong Defa, Consul General of the Consulate General of China in Munich; Algernon Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of Hong Kong; Roland Weigert, State Secretary of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, Germany; Hans-PeterFriedrich, member of the German Bundestag and German-Chinese Parliamentary Friendship Group; Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.
Macao enterprises signed agreements and participation in business talks
At the project signing ceremony held during the conference, Macao Sunwah Technology and an Italian enterprise signed the “Co-operation Agreement on Art-Themed Tour Exhibitions in China”, with the related project including various technological elements such as virtual reality (VR). Its first pilot project will be located in the GBA. Furthermore, CESL Asia assigned the delegates from its Portuguese branch to participate in the on-site business talks, helping the GBA enterprises explore the EU market through Macao’s networking platform.
A“Theme Forum: Innovation Driving the Future inthe Greater Bay Area”was launched during the conference. The mainland GBA cities including Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai conducted their policy promotions in groups. Business matching sessions were held on-site, where enterprises of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao interacted and sharedviews with European enterprises, aiming to help them further explore the GBA business opportunities. In addition, during the visit to Munich, the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, InvestHK and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute also discussed the work arrangement regarding the introduction of Greater Bay Area based on their co-ordination mechanism.
