Hong Kong’s top business figures have called for cutting red tape and riding on new technology to facilitate trade under China’s “Greater Bay Area” project to turn the city and 10 of its neighbours into an economic powerhouse.
A key conduit to ramp up trade across jurisdictions would be the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, a multilateral mechanism under the ambit of World Trade Organisation, said Victor Fung Kwok-king of the Fung Group, leading the first effort by the local business community to map out its vision for the ambitious project.
Fung’s think tank, the 2022 Foundation, unveiled a policy study report on Friday setting out 50 recommendations to push forward the national project which aims to rival Silicon Valley by 2035.
The report comes a month after the central government published its long-anticipated document laying out the blueprint to transform Hong Kong and 10 cities around the Pearl River Delta into a thriving global centre of technology, innovation and economic vibrancy.
