In a bid to encourage Hong Kong investors to explore the less developed cities of the Pearl River Delta and beyond, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has led business missions to Zhanjiang , Yangjiang , Shaoguan and Qingyuan so far this year.
Among the area's cities, Jiangmen stands out for its excellent investment climate, according to the World Bank, and is relatively close to Hong Kong - geographically and in terms of kinship ties.
Jiangmen has watched investment flood into the eastern Pearl River Delta cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen and the four little tigers of Dongguan , Nanhai , Shunde and Zhongshan .
Although it is less than three hours' travel from Hong Kong, Jiangmen missed out on the boom that stopped just across the Xijiang (West River), at the Zhongshan townships of Guzhen and Xiaolan. However, it is now gearing up for an expected new wave of investment as industries migrate in search of ever-cheaper land and labour.
'Land and environmental protection are what set us apart from the other PRD cities,' said Zhou Wen, vice-director of the city's Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation. 'Land is our biggest asset and environment comes after land.'
Jiangmen has a population of just 3.95 million, but an area of 9,541sqkm - one-quarter of the PRD. Even its poorest villages boast good infrastructure, while provincial government investment has given it one of the best highway networks in Guangdong.
