Property companies, with strategic investment plans in place, are confident of making inroads into Greater Bay Area, KPMG survey finds

Some 96 per cent of the executives surveyed by KPMG expect the Greater Bay Area initiative will help grow revenues significantly

Gaining access to the GBA’s massive market the main reason for companies to expand in the region, as cited by 73 per cent of respondents in latest study

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The Greater Bay Area, linking up Hong Kong and Macau with nine other cities, has been created with the aim of turning southern China into a world-class hi-tech economic powerhouse to rival Silicon Valley and Tokyo’s Bay Area. Photo: AP Photo

Published: 9:05am, 20 Jan 2020Updated: 9:52am, 20 Jan 2020

The property sector is the most confident industry when it comes to growth prospects in the Greater Bay Area, as most companies have formulated a strategy and earmarked more than HK$500 million (US$64.3 million) each to realise their plans, according to a survey by the accounting firm KPMG.

The bay area initiative, which aims to link Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province into an economic and business powerhouse, offers a “total solution” for corporates looking for tech expertise, capital, talent, R&D and manufacturing bases to grow their businesses, said Maggie Lee, partner for audit and head of capital markets development for Hong Kong at KPMG China.

The KPMG poll of 747 executives in different sectors across the GBA and other mainland cities found that up to 96 per cent were confident that the initiative will help them gain significant revenue growth.

The property sector was the most confident in the GBA region. Of the 50 real estate companies polled, 34 per cent plan to invest more than HK$500 million and 70 per cent said they already have a strategy in place for the GBA.

Overall, some 56 per cent of firms expect a 20 per cent uptick in revenue growth over the next three years, while another 23 per cent anticipate this could even exceed 30 per cent.