In 2019, the Greater Bay Area was found to be lagging behind 11 countries in terms of its economic output. This was highlighted by Chan, who also compared the Greater Bay Area to the American cities of New York and San Francisco, stating that the development zone was similar to the combined economic output of those two cities. However, Wang Songmiao, the Secretary-General of the Central Government Liaison Office, sees the Greater Bay Area as an important growth engine for Hong Kong as the Hong Kong economy gradually recovers.
At an event held on Saturday, General Secretary Wang Songmiao of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government gave a speech at the 2nd World Conference of Chinese Accountants. He highlighted that Hong Kong’s GDP in the first quarter had increased by 2.7% year-on-year, while the government expects the local economy to rise by 3.5% to 5% this year. Wang believes that Hong Kong is back and it will benefit not only the accounting profession, but also other industries.
Paul Chan, the Finance Minister in Hong Kong, spoke about how the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearings (HKEX) and Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) will benefit from the reforms, as around 260 companies have been listed under the city’s new listing system in the past five years. Together, these companies have raised more than HK$1 trillion (US$128 billion), accounting for 25% of market capitalization and sales. Chan also pointed out that Hong Kong has become the world’s second-largest funding hub for biotech companies after New York.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced on Friday that it would introduce yuan stock trading from 19 June, which brokers hope will boost Hong Kong’s status as a city. Chan sees another growth opportunity for Hong Kong to serve as a green finance hub for climate change projects. Hainan province issued a “blue bond” in October 2020 to Hong Kong to support ocean protection, while the Shenzhen Municipal Government issued green bonds worth RMB 5 billion in Hong Kong in 2021, which has strengthened Hong Kong’s status as a city.
Finally, Chan and Wang co-hosted a ceremony on Saturday to mark the establishment of a new partnership between 38 accounting institutions in the Greater Bay Area, the United States and the United Kingdom. The purpose of this partnership is to promote further exchange activities among members.