The Fourth Business Conference on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development, jointly held by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Macao SAR Government, opened on 22 October at the Cotai Expo of the Venetian Macao. The event has attracted over 1,000 representatives from political and commercial sectors of 25 countries and regions to explore new development opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), promoting regional co-operation and international economic and trade exchanges, and fostering synergy for global economic development.
At the opening ceremony, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR Sam Hou Fai, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Leung Chun-ying, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Lee Ka-chiu, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Ren Hongbin, and Vice Governor of Guangdong Province Zhang Guozhi, delivered speeches and video presentations respectively.
Leveraging the Greater Bay Area’s Strengths to Deepen High-Level Opening-Up
In his address, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR Sam Hou Fai underlined the objectives of the Conference: to build a practical and efficient co-operation platform rooted in the Greater Bay Area and oriented towards the world, fostering in-depth exchanges and the exploration of opportunities among business communities at home and abroad. Looking ahead, Macao will leverage Macao–Hengqin integration as a starting point to better integrate into and serve the overall national development, contributing Macao’s strengths to this endeavour. The Macao SAR Government sincerely welcomes investors from home and abroad to capitalise on the preferential policies and market opportunities of Macao and the Greater Bay Area.
In his address, CCPIT President Ren Hongbin highlighted the solid progress and achievements made in the development of the Greater Bay Area in recent years. He noted that the development of the Greater Bay Area has entered a crucial moment of transitioning from shape-taking stage to quality-improving stage. At this new starting point—the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan—CCPIT stands ready to help business communities around the world seize the market, investment and growth opportunities arising from the development of the Greater Bay Area, and to advance its development.
Ng Wai Han, Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR Government, stated in her address that the Conference aims to leverage the comprehensive strengths of the Greater Bay Area to deepen regional collaborative development; make use of the Macao platform to support GBA enterprises in jointly exploring international markets; and seize the opportunities arising from the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan to explore new avenues for GBA industrial co-operation. She expressed her hope that the Conference would provide an opportunity to strengthen communication, deepen project matching, and expand co-operation and exchanges.
The Conference’s Debut at MIF to Establish a Platform for Co-operation
Themed “Integrating the Greater Bay Area for a Connected World”, the Conference launched the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Supply Chain Promotion Report 2026” and the important outcomes such as the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Shared Arbitrator Mechanism”. In addition, an agreement signing was arranged between the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and the Macau World Trade Centre Arbitration Centre during the event. The subsequent plenary sessions focused on “Strengthening the Resilience of the Greater Bay Area’s Industrial Chains and Promoting Synergy for Global Economic Development”. In his speech at the plenary session, Che Weng Keong, President of Macao Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), stated that the Conference which made its debut at MIF, showed the strong synergistic effect. He hoped that the business communities of Macao and the Greater Bay Area would deepen co-operation through industrial needs, thereby promoting the effective matching of projects with resources. He called on participants to make good use of the Conference and MIF platform to actively find partners and projects.
At the Conference, keynote speakers offered their opinions and engaged in topics such as industrial development, investment opportunities, and talent needs in the Greater Bay Area. The event also featured four parallel panels, concentrating on in-depth dialogues concerning technological innovation and transformation, the co-ordinated development of culture, tourism, and MICE industries, cross-border investment fund collaboration, as well as advancements in the biomedicine and big health industries. Representatives from government and business sectors actively shared their insights in exploring collaboration avenues and development opportunities to jointly drive the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area.
