Guangzhou legislators eye golden opportunities from Greater Bay Area

Night view of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, July 20, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

Authorities in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, have planned to establish a futures exchange, a commercial bank and an international financial island to facilitate the overall development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, according to a senior government official.

"By establishing such financial services and other facilities in culture, trade and big data, we are aiming to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into a world-class bay area and forge a top international city cluster in the Pearl River Delta," said Wen Guohui, mayor of Guangzhou.

Wen made the remarks while delivering a government work report during the annual local legislative meeting, which opened on Tuesday.

"We will also jointly build a science and technology innovative corridor between Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao, to facilitate industrial upgrading in the bay area," said Wen.

According to Wen, an industrial cooperation zone between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao would be built in the Greater Bay Area, to help introduce more high-end businesses from the healthcare, high-speed rail, airport and big data industries.

Liang Yaoming, a deputy to the Guangzhou municipal people's congress, said the planned financial facilities would be of great importance to the development of real economy in the Greater Bay Area.

"The financial industry will play a big role in the future development of the Greater Bay Area, as it will increase demand for investment and fundraising following its industrial upgrading," said Liang.

Liang, also chief executive officer of the Guangzhou KingMed Diagnostics Group Co Ltd, said the Greater Bay Area would also create demand for high-end industries and talents.

"More financial services would help support development of high-end and advanced industries," said Liang.

According to Liang, the Guangzhou KingMed Diagnostics Group, a third-party company dedicated to medical testing, has planned to introduce more high-end medical testing resources into the Greater Bay Area.

"We are facilitating more advanced overseas medical testing technologies to move into China as well as helping domestic resources to better tap Hong Kong and other overseas markets," said Liang.

The Greater Bay Area includes the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and nine cities in Guangdong, with a land area of 56,000 square kilometers and population of 70 million.

According to the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the Greater Bay Area is positioned as a dynamic world-class city cluster, a global technology and innovation hub, a giant pivot of the Belt and Road Initiative, a showcase for in-depth cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, Macao, as well as a quality living circle to provide an ideal place for living, working and traveling.