The Greater Bay Area (GBA) covers Macau, Hong Kong and nine other cities in Guangdong and is often considered as a catalyst for deeper economic reform in China. The framework agreement on deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau cooperation was signed on 1 July 2017. Since then, collaboration has been centered around finance, technology, manufacturing, logistics and academic research. The combined GDP of the GBA was over RMB 13 trillion in 2022. But how much of this benefits the Macau SAR?

Macau CSR strategic partner Britcham Macao, together with Macau European Chamber of Commerce, invited Professor Sonny Lo from Hong Kong University to explore the opportunities and challenges Macau faces in integrating itself into the GBA.

In Professor Lo’s speech, he outlined that the GBA was designed to deliver several objectives, including the SARs enhancing a national Chinese socio-cultural identity with the motherland, attracting foreign direct investment into the GBA through Hong Kong and Macau, and allowing the Hong Kong and Macau SARs to utilize the physical space of Shenzhen and Hengqin to develop Hong Kong’s technological innovation and Macau’s economic diversification respectively.

However, Professor Lo noted that with great opportunities come huge challenges.

“Apart from trade and tourism,” he said, “Macau could benefit from technological innovation, talent migration, medical care and services for the elderly.

“GDP disparity is an issue. Currently Hong Kong has the highest GDP and Macau comes second. The movement of youth from the mainland to Hong Kong and Macau is prominent, but the youth of Hong Kong and Macau have limited interest in GBA integration. As such, the regional integration in the GBA will likely be unbalanced and uneven.”