China unveils financial plan for Hong Kong, Macau to spur tighter embrace of Greater Bay Area master plan
- Beijing explores wealth management connect, the first in bay area
- Insurers hope to set up services centre in bay area
China’s central bank and financial regulators unveiled a sweeping plan to spur cross-border financial services, transactions and investments between Hong Kong, Macau and nine Guangdong provincial cities to develop the so-called Greater Bay Area (GBA) into one of the world’s largest economic regions.
Under the plan, residents of Hong Kong and Macau can buy wealth management products sold by Chinese banks in the region, while the inhabitants of the Guangdong cities can tap financial products sold by the banks in Hong Kong and Macau, according to the announcement by the People’s Bank of China, and the securities, bank and currency regulators.
Dubbed the Wealth Management Connect, the scheme is the fourth cross-border investment channel between Hong Kong and mainland China since 2014 – in addition to stocks and bonds – that ties the two financial markets together. It’s also a milestone in Hong Kong’s evolution as a financial gateway into China.
“The scheme will provide an opportunity for wealthy Hongkongers to diversify their portfolio with investments in the growth potential of the GBA, while providing more investment options for mainland China’s population,” said the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority’s Principal Liaison Officer Witman Hung Wai-man, during the China Conference in Hong Kong by South China Morning Post. “This is a game changer that will tie the Bay Area cities closer with Hong Kong and Macau.”
The Greater Bay Area, with a total population of 70 million people across 11 cities and a projected economy estimated at US$1.5 trillion, is the world’s 13th-largest economy – ahead of Spain and behind South Korea – if it were a stand-alone economic entity.