British Chamber of Commerce members building China strategy around special access to Greater Bay Area

Members of the British Chamber of Commerce are focusing on accessing China through the Greater Bay Area, says chairman Peter Burnett

The chamber sees Greater Bay Area initiative as an opportunity for Hong Kong to further develop its economic and business roles by leveraging its strengths

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Peter Burnett, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce, sees the Greater Bay Area as a launch pad for companies looking to expand in China. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Published: 2:30pm, 27 Oct 2020Updated: 9:43pm, 27 Oct 2020

Members of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong are largely upbeat on the scope presented by “special access” to the Greater Bay Area, while at the same time they see it as a major strategic opportunity for the city to further develop its roles as an international financial hub.

“To capture the opportunities, many of the chamber’s members, large and small, are developing a China strategy built around the special access to GBA,” Peter Burnett, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in the city, said in an interview with the Post.

“I can take my company Standard Chartered as an example,” said Burnett, who is also an adviser at the UK banking group. “We are investing US$40 million (HK$310 million) in the Standard Chartered Greater Bay Area Centre in Guangzhou.”

The importance of the Greater Bay Area for Standard Chartered is highlighted by the fact that the London-based lender, which generates much of its revenue in Asia, recently appointed a head for the area to lead its growth, identifying it as a geographic entity in its own right. The centre, which opened in the third quarter, will promote the development and application of innovative financial solutions and strengthen the bank’s cross-boundary banking services.

Standard Chartered underlined the importance of the Greater Bay Area to its business by investing US$40 million in Guangzhou. Photo: Bloomberg

The Greater Bay Area initiative, a cluster of 11 cities in southern China which includes Hong Kong and Macau, has a population of over 70 million and a combined gross domestic product of about US$1.7 trillion. To harness the large economic potential of the region, regulators in Hong Kong and China have unveiled various cross-border pilot schemes, including Wealth Management Connect and Bond Connect, aimed at promoting closer financial cooperation in the bay area.