Greater Bay Area Business Conference Begins, Fostering Development and Collaboration Across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao

2024-12-11 19:40 Last Updated At：19:48

Business Conference on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development held in Hong Kong

The Second Business Conference on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development is being held today and tomorrow (December 11 and 12) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, attracting about 1 000 business leaders and representatives of enterprises from Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao, as well as from other Mainland cities and overseas for in-depth exchanges on key issues relating to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) for promotion of the advantages and opportunities of the GBA. The conference provides a platform for the governments and the business sector to jointly drive forward the development of the GBA, enabling Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to leverage their respective strengths in serving the country's needs and contributing together to the country's high-quality development.

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Business Conference on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development held in Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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Business Conference on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development held in Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The conference is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council as the strategic partner. Under the theme "Development of the Greater Bay Area in China to Provide Opportunities for the World", the conference features an opening ceremony, a keynote session, parallel thematic panels, and city promotion and enterprise match-making activities.

In the morning, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, together with Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and the President of the All-China Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mr Gao Yunlong; Vice Chairman of the CCPIT Mr Zhang Shaogang; and Deputy Secretary-General of the People's Government of Guangdong Province Mr Huang Mingzhong officiated at the opening ceremony and delivered opening speeches. The Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr Ho Iat-seng, also gave a video speech.

Mr Lee said in his speech that the GBA, one of the most economically vibrant and open regions in the country with an economic scale close to that of the 10th largest economy in the world, is becoming increasingly influential in the country and in the world, demonstrating great potential for development. As one of the core cities in the GBA and with its unique advantages under "onecountry, two systems", Hong Kong is complementing the strengths of other GBA cities in enhancing the measures that promote mutual connectivity, playing the role of an active participant, facilitator and beneficiary of the GBA's development.

Mr Lee said that a number of measures relating to the participation in the GBA's development have been rolled out in this year's Policy Address, including promoting the development of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Loop, as well as strengthening the mutual market access regimes and harmonisation of rules and mechanisms in areas such as logistics, aviation, professional qualifications, capital, data flow and legal matters. He said Hong Kong will serve as the power source for the high-quality development of the GBA, promoting the efficient flow of people, goods, capital and information in the region.

The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau; and the Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Ms Maggie Wong, also attended the opening ceremony.

At the opening ceremony, Dr Cheung and Mr Zhang signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further enhance collaboration of the two sides in areas such as the development of foreign-related rule of law, multifaceted dispute resolution and the nurturing of foreign-related legal talent, to fully leverage the strengths of Hong Kong's common law system, thereby contributing to the development of trade and investment between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and the construction of foreign-related rule of law of the country. Mr Yau delivered a welcoming speech at the opening ceremony.

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, said in his speech at the welcoming luncheon in the afternoon that the GBA is a huge market with a wealth of talent, a strong industrial base, well developed financial services and strong technologicalinnovation capabilities. With the development momentum generated by the dual engines of finance and innovation and technology, the GBA possesses advantages comparable to the combined strengths of the San Francisco Bay Area and the New York Bay Area in the United States.

He also highlighted Hong Kong's internationalised advantages under "one country, two systems", exemplified in particular in financial services and legal systems. Hong Kong's competitiveness is also well recognised internationally, with rising positions in various international rankings. Looking ahead, with the strong support of the country, Hong Kong is actively driving forward the development of the "eight centres", and deepening co-operation with sister cities in the GBA, especially in promoting high-quality development in the areas of finance, innovation and technology and trade to create a more favourable business environment and greater business opportunities for businesses from around the world.

At the keynote session themed "Jointly Build a World-class Greater Bay Area with Prosperity to Share Opportunities of High-quality Development", business leaders and representatives of enterprises from the Mainland and overseas shared with the audience the latest developments of the GBA and encouraged different sectors to seize the enormous opportunities therein.

The conference also features four parallel thematic panels for business leaders to engage in in-depth discussions on topical issues including accelerating the cultivation of new quality productive forces, deepening mutual access between financial markets, establishing a multifaceted commercial dispute resolution mechanism and creating an inclusive business environment for intellectual property trading in the GBA.

The conference will continue tomorrow. At the city promotion event in the morning, relevant entities of Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, Guizhou and Hainan will introduce their respective investment opportunities and business advantages in the GBA development. Field trips in the afternoon will present successful experiences in the GBA's sectoral planning.

Hong Kong Customs Seizes 42kg of Ketamine, Arrests Two Men at Airport

Hong Kong Customs detects two drug trafficking cases involving incoming passengers at airport

Hong Kong Customs on June 17 and yesterday (June 18) detected two drug trafficking cases involving baggage concealment at Hong Kong International Airport, and seized a total of about 42 kilograms of suspected ketamine with a total estimated market value of about $16 million. Two men were arrested.

In the first case, a 50-year-old Japanese male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on June 17. During customs clearance, Customs officers found about 16kg of suspected ketamine inside his check-in suitcase and 137 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarettes inside his carry-on baggage. The man was subsequently arrested.

In the second case, a 50-year-old British male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from London, the United Kingdom, yesterday. During customs clearance, Customs officers found about 26kg of suspected ketamine inside his two check-in suitcases. He was subsequently arrested.

The arrested man in the first case has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, one count of possession of dutiable goods and one count of failing to declare to a member of the Customs and Excise Service. The arrested man in the second case has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. Both cases will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (June 20).

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.

Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO), cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Greater Bay Area Business Conference Begins, Fostering Development and Collaboration Across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao

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