The Promotion Centre held a Chinese New Year gathering for Hong Kong people and enterprises in Shenzhen, so as to foster exchanges among Hong Kong people and enterprises in Guangdong and learn about their situations in living, working and doing business in the Greater Bay Area. At the gathering, the Head of the Promotion Centre, Ms Fiona Lee, introduced the work of the Promotion Centre and encouraged Hong Kong people and enterprises to actively participate in the Promotion Centre’s activities. The event also featured thematic presentations on “cross-boundary banking services”, “development potential of healthcare and elderly care industries”, “strong demand in cultural, creative and tourism development”, and “effective use of the BUD Fund and the SME Export Marketing Fund”, which enabled attendees to better understand the latest developments in relevant industries.
The final round of “Dreams to GBA Come True” Itinerary Design Competition under Mainland Exchange Programmes for Students, jointly organised by the Office and the Education Bureau, was conducted. Representatives of the judging panel, including the Assistant Commissioner, Miss Cathy Li, and the Chief Manager, Ms Lisa Lai, selected a champion, a first runner-up and a second runner-up from both the Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary Students Divisions. In the final round, students of each team demonstrated utmost efforts to present their spectacularly designed Greater Bay Area itineraries, which highlighted the connectivity, history and culture, I&T, as well as development opportunities, etc. of the Greater Bay Area cities. The competition results will be announced at the award presentation ceremony in May.
The Commissioner, Ms Maisie Chan, attended and delivered an address at the “GoGBA Development Day”. On the theme of “new quality productive forces”, the seminar aimed to assist Hong Kong enterprises in understanding the latest trends of I&T development in the Greater Bay Area, and from the perspective of SMEs, exploring how to adjust corporate strategies to leverage the Greater Bay Area’s strengths and I&T development to cultivate and stimulate their own momentum for new quality growth and forge ahead with their business development. The seminar also featured insights and experiences from industry leaders, professionals and academic experts on policy direction and prospects, corporate strategies, and technology applications of new quality productive forces. During the panel discussion, experts and business representatives shared their invaluable insights on the developments and trends of I&T sector of the Greater Bay Area from SMEs’ perspective, and how to capitalise on the opportunities arising from the development of new quality productive forces. On-site one-on-one consultation services were also provided by supporting partners from Hong Kong and other Greater Bay Area cities. The event attracted the participation of more than 300 enterprise representatives.
The Commissioner, Ms Maisie Chan, attended the Greater Bay Area Youth Entrepreneurship Carnival organised by the Promotion Centre in Nansha, Guangzhou. The Carnival, with the participation of over 40 youth start-ups, provided a platform for young entrepreneurs in the Greater Bay Area to showcase their ventures as well as exchanging and sharing ideas. The event featured a youth entrepreneurship bazaar, thematic sharing sessions, and live performances by young people, etc. Among them, the youth entrepreneurship bazaar contained five main themes: advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, AI, new media, and integrated projects, with over 40 booths showcasing innovative achievements of young entrepreneurs and facilitating exchanges. Young entrepreneurs were invited to share their entrepreneurial journeys. On-site displays included information boards on youth entrepreneurship policies and a dedicated zone showcasing youth entrepreneurship bases, enabling participants to learn about relevant policies and support measures to facilitate their planning of entrepreneurial pathways. The Carnival was jointly organised by the Promotion Centre, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Exchange Promotional Association, and the Guangzhou Nansha Hong Kong and Macao Youth Wule Service Centre.
A new mini-television programme, “Hello GBA, Hello Nansha!” produced by the Office, premiered. The programme consists of six episodes, each of approximately three minutes long. It introduces Nansha’s planning and development, including policies and opportunities in areas such as youth entrepreneurship, I&T, education, pharmaceutical industry, as well as healthcare and elderly care services, and features how Nansha collaborates with Hong Kong to create opportunities through five major development directions, namely industry co-operation in I&T, co-operation in youth innovation and entrepreneurship, high-standard opening up, alignment of rules and mechanisms, and high-quality urban development. The programme is also broadcast on MTR in-train televisions for the convenience of the public.
The Office has run a promotional campaign themed “Leveraging Hong Kong’s Strengths, Developing a First-class Greater Bay Area”, under which Hong Kong’s most iconic public transport carriers, including double-decker buses, trams and cross-harbour ferry, are used as mobile display platforms to showcase the vitality and opportunities of Greater Bay Area development to the public as well as Mainland and overseas visitors and enterprises, while encouraging various sectors to seize the opportunities arising from Greater Bay Area development.
