Modern service industries

Aiming to build itself into a world-class bay area, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will form a service industry development pattern combining the construction of central cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen, with different characteristic services of surrounding cities.

The nine cities of Guangdong province, formerly known as the Pearl River Delta, will accelerate the development of a modern service industry system that is compatible with advanced manufacturing industries. The province will build an international center for the financial, shipping, logistics, trade, exhibition, tourism, and innovation sectors development that are dislocated from Hong Kong and Macao.

Investment finance is an important part of modern service industry. [Photo/VCG]

Guangdong province will develop its headquarters economy, investment finance, international trade, modern logistics, and more functions based on the advanced manufacturing industry to replace imported services. It will also develop high-end service industries, such as technology and R&D centers, information service centers, investment financing services, professional services, and more. It will accelerate the construction of high-end service industry clusters such as China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Sino-Singapore Knowledge City, as well as Guangzhou Airport Economic Zone, Shenzhen International Low Carbon City, Guangzhou Industrial Design Center, and Guangdong Province Financial Technology Industry Integration and Innovation Center.

The province will cultivate a group of virtual service platform enterprises of "Internet Plus" industries, integrating the services of various professions and providing comprehensive services for specific industries. It also put efforts in developing its convention and exhibition industry, industry tourism, and business travel.

Hong Kong is recognized as an international financial center and an international shipping center. It is well developed in the modern service industry. The added value of Hong Kong's professional services and other industrial and commercial support services in 2015 was HK$287.2 billion, accounting for 12.3 percent of Hong Kong's total GDP. At present, Hong Kong has focused on four major industries: biotechnology, artificial intelligence, smart cities, and financial technology. 

In the future, the Greater Bay Area will consolidate and enhance the status of Hong Kong's international financial center, and build an investment and financing platform that serves the Belt and Road construction. It will build a green financial center in the Greater Bay Area, while developing an internationally recognized green bond certification body. The bay area will also expand the scale and scope of cross-border use of the Chinese yuan (CNY). Most importantly, it will continue to build a modern service industry system with complementary advantages and collaborative support, based on logistics, tourism services, cultural creativity, human resources services, conferences and exhibitions, and other professional services.