Hong Kong urged to pave path for Greater Bay Area firms going global
Standards alignment, supply-chain coordination and cross-border financing are areas where city’s expertise can be pivotal, summit speakers say
Speakers at the Greater Bay Area Global Business Expansion Summit on Tuesday highlighted the city’s strengthening position in three areas where companies face new challenges as they shift from contract manufacturing to building their own brands: standards alignment, supply-chain coordination and cross-border financing.
The gap between domestic and international standards had emerged as a key barrier for many companies in the bay area, said Sunny Tan, chairman of the Hong Kong Productivity Council.
“This is exactly where Hong Kong is very capable,” Tan said. “For emerging industries, many products are so new that no unified global standards exist yet. Hong Kong can help with both standardisation and testing certification.”
The Greater Bay Area refers to Beijing’s initiative to link Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province – Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing – into an integrated economic and business hub.
Supply-chain relocation had exposed the limits of going it alone for companies in the region, according to speakers.