Global investors and startups should consider establishing a foothold in the Greater Bay Area given its unique combination of strengths in finance and innovation, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Monday.

He was speaking at the opening of the inaugural Co-Development and Investment Conference, which brings together around 300 investors and more than 500 startups alongside industry leaders and academics in the Greater Bay Area.

The six-day event starts at Hong Kong Science Park before moving on to Dongguan and Hangzhou for its final four days.

“For global investors in a world overshadowed by geopolitics, the requirement is twofold: stability and security on the one hand, attractive returns on the other,” Chan said.

“For innovators and entrepreneurs, capital alone is not enough. They need an industrial ecosystem, a steady supply of talent and access to the full range of innovation resources.

“Nowhere is the combination of finance and innovation stronger than in the Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao Greater Bay Area.”

Chan called Hong Kong a “magnet” for global talent and a hub for fast-rising innovation, making it a natural complement to sister Greater Bay Area cities that excel in advanced manufacturing, commercialisation and scaling.

The city, he added, is also building a capital ecosystem tailored to support startups and drive innovation.

These efforts are already bearing fruit, Chan said, pointing out that the technology sector's share of turnover on the Hong Kong bourse has risen from 15 percent to 47 percent over the past decade, with overall turnover growing more than eightfold.



Edited by Tony Sabine