Greater Bay Area firms expect rebound in orders and sales, Standard Chartered poll finds

Name: China’s economy expands record 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021
Uploaded: 2021-06-21T10:00:00.000Z
Duration: 2 min 1 s
Description: China’s economy expands record 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021

Manufacturers are more confident about the zone long term, says a report released by the bank to clients

Quick containment of domestic outbreak has allowed manufacturers in the region to capture subsequent local and global demand recovery

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Shenzhen, in China’s southern Guangdong province, is covered by the Greater Bay Area. About 66 per cent of companies surveyed said they saw the region presenting new business opportunities a few years down the road, compared to 58 per cent a year ago. Photo: Xinhua

Martin Choi

Published: 6:00pm, 21 Jun 2021Updated: 10:39pm, 21 Jun 2021

Manufacturers in the Greater Bay Area development zone expected orders and sales to broadly rebound this year while capital expenditure was also set to increase, as China’s recovery from the outbreak of the coronavirus gained momentum, according to a survey by Standard Chartered.

A report on the survey’s findings by the bank, released to clients on Thursday, also showed that manufacturers were showing more long-term confidence in the development zone.

A quick containment of the domestic Covid-19 crisis had allowed manufacturers in the region to capture subsequent local and global demand recovery, Standard Chartered economists Kelvin Lau and Chidu Narayanan said in the report.

“The swift post Covid-19 reopening of factories in the region also showcases its reliability as a primary production base for companies keen to tap onshore China demand,” they said.

Standard Chartered has conducted annual surveys to monitor manufacturing in China for 12 years now, and has recently shifted its focus to track the Greater Bay Area. The bank is one of Hong Kong’s three currency-issuing lenders.

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China’s economy expands record 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021

The bank surveyed more than 220 manufacturers with operations in the region, mainly headquartered in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China, between mid-March and mid-May. Between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of the respondents were operating at 70 per cent or more of pre Covid-19 levels on all four business metrics of capacity utilisation, sales, orders and workforce strength.