The Greater Bay Area, or “China’s Silicon Valley”: What is It, How Will It Develop and How Can Businesses Benefit?

Executive Summary

The Greater Bay Area could be China’s answer to Silicon Valley. On February 18, 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People’s Republic of China released a development plan for the Greater Bay Area: Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and the surrounding area (commonly referred to the Pearl River Delta). Beijing has set ambitions of developing the region into a global innovation and finance hub and improving infrastructure connectivity between the cities.

• The Greater Bay Area (GBA) includes nine Pearl River Delta cities and two special administrative regions, namely Hong Kong and Macau.
• The government hopes the GBA plan will fuel innovation in technology, to build a smart city cluster and support transport development to encourage trade.
• The GBA plan provides opportunities for various businesses across different sections to grow and flourish. Especially, we see opportunity for retailers in GBA cities.
• Drawing upon the success in other bay areas, such as Tokyo Bay Area and San Francisco Bay Area, the GBA shall see human capital and venture capital as important factors to nurture innovation and development.