As the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) initiative brings closer cooperation and economic integration between nine cities and two special administrative regions, the message of the recently-held ACCA GBA CFO Summit 2022, was that finance and accounting professionals can contribute in many ways to its development.
‘The finance industry has always been at the forefront of economic growth and development and is a cornerstone in shaping the continued growth of the global economy and capital markets. For decades, ACCA has trained tens of thousands of top talents with financial expertise in the GBA and will continue to provide a continuous pool of talent for the region’s development,’ Ada Leung, director of ACCA China, told the summit’s attendees.
There are expectations that the GBA will also emerge as an international financial hub
Science and tech
The GBA is one of the world’s major international science and technology centres, a gathering place for innovation and talent, and a major national strategic focus.
‘Innovation is crucial to building a world-class science and innovation Bay Area,’ said Guo Wanda, executive vice president of the China Development Institute in his keynote speech.
The Qianhai zone in Shenzhen is set to play a key role in the development of the GBA’s innovation capabilities. Wang Jinxia, deputy director of the Qianhai administration in Shenzhen, told the summit: ‘The next step for the Qianhai Cooperation Zone will be to build a comprehensive reform and innovation pilot platform in the GBA, to strengthen the openness to the outside world, and to help the construction of an international science and innovation centre in the Bay Area.’
Capital advantage
In the first discussion of the summit, speakers considered how finance and accounting professionals can help design commercially reasonable plans and empower innovative technologies that emerge in the GBA.
There are expectations that the positioning of the GBA will not only help it emerge as a key global centre for science and innovation, but also as an international financial hub. Financial capital is an important means to enable the high-quality and sustainable development of the GBA.
A reasonable financial policy is required to keep China competitive in today’s capital markets, as is an in-depth and up-to-date understanding of international capital markets. Hong Kong could play a special role in helping the GBA here.
‘Hong Kong has the unique advantage of preferential access to the mainland and is also connected to the world’
Joseph Chan, under-secretary for financial services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said: ‘Under “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong has the unique advantage of preferential access to the mainland and is also connected to the world. Hong Kong directly participates in the huge mainland market and at the same time is connected to the world, serving as a bridge between the mainland and the world.
‘The HKSAR government will continue to consolidate and capitalise on Hong Kong’s advantages as an international financial centre to help build the GBA and promote the development of the local financial industry.’
The GBA faces the challenges associated with the ongoing transition of the industrial chain
Supply chains
The ‘industrial chain’ was another focus of the summit and a particularly important one given that GBA cities are still the world’s manufacturing heartland.
The pandemic has hindered the sustainable development of global trade. Global supply chains are slowly being reshaped and recreating how the global economy, trade, investment and corporate strategic development are evolving.
As a global manufacturing centre, the GBA is one of the most important parts of the global supply chain and the new industrial chain. But it also faces the challenges associated with the ongoing transition of the industrial chain.
World links
Li Zongguang, managing director and chief economist at China Renaissance, a Chinese financial institution, discussed the overall situation and trends associated with global supply chain restructuring and China’s influence within it during the third discussion of the summit on the theme ‘Bay Area Interoperability, Business Connectivity’.
The upshot is that the GBA needs to continue strengthening its links to the world as it evolves.
‘The GBA should enhance the resilience of the supply chain and spread the interconnection of enterprises out to the world,’ said Nelson Chow, partner at EY advisory services.
More information
Watch recordings of the recent ACCA GBA CFO Summit 2022: session 1, session 2, and session 3. Details of the sessions.
