South China Morning Post teams up with Statista on a quest to find the fastest-growing companies in the Greater Bay Area

The ranking of the Greater Bay Area’s growth champions will be based on a survey of companies located among the 11 cities in the area

Submissions will run from May 24 until September 15, with the final ranking published on November 25

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Image of the Luohu (Lo Wu) district of Shenzhen, one of the 11 cities included in the Greater Bay Area project, on 12 August 2018. Photo: SCMP / Roy Issa

Published: 10:16am, 24 May 2019Updated: 12:16pm, 27 Aug 2019

South China Morning Post will team up with Statista, a German online statistics portal, to compile a list of the fastest-growing companies in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), part of the programme by one of Asia’s oldest English-language newspapers to shed light on the future economic powerhouse in southern China.

The list will be ranked by revenue growth between the years 2015 and 2018. To qualify for the ranking, companies need to register by filling out this online form. Registration is free of charge and all companies located among the 11 cities - including Hong Kong and Macau - that make up the Greater Bay Area can participate. The revenue thresholds to qualify are low: at least 1 million yuan/HK$1.1 million for 2015 and HK$10 million yuan/HK$11.1 million for 2018.

For each company, the absolute revenue growth in the three years as well as the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) will be published, but not the absolute revenue figures. Statista recommends that all companies with a CAGR of more than 8 per cent should register and fill in the form, with the survey deadline set for September 15.

“As a global media company leading the conversation on China, SCMP is proud to feature dynamic companies who are leading in the Greater Bay Area,” said Tammy Tam, editor in chief of South China Morning Post. “We look forward to showcasing companies who are on a significant growth trajectory, recognising that this honour will open additional business, recruiting and investment opportunities for those companies featured.”

The Greater Bay Area – a cluster comprising nine cities in Guangdong province with Hong Kong and Macau – has a population of 70 million people and a combined economic output estimated at US$1.5 trillion, which would place it ahead of Spain as the world’s 13th-biggest economy if it were a stand-alone entity, according to the International Monetary Fund’s data. The Chinese government unveiled a detailed blue print in February for creating a powerful economic and business hub to rival California’s Silicon Valley.

The unveiling of the blue print has already created a flurry of investments into the GBA, with Hong Kong’s banks stepping up their hiring processes to expand in the larger market. Real estate prices have risen in Zhuhai, Foshan and Zhongshan as investors – especially wily Hong Kong speculators – tried to get ahead of the market by securing footholds in the mainland Chinese cities in the area.