Shares in companies based in Guangdong, the Chinese province neighbouring Hong Kong, surged on Tuesday after Beijing released an outline for the development of the Greater Bay Area megaproject to create a powerhouse of innovation in the Pearl River Delta.
The outline for the Greater Bay Area identified the four core cities of Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and , Shenzhen. Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing are also incorporated in the plan, bringing the population of the area to almost 70m people at the end of 2017.
The outline said the Greater Bay area will consolidate Hong Kong’s status as a global financial, transport and trade hub while Macau’s focus will be tourism and Shenzhen will leverage its position as a centre of innovation within China. New infrastructure projects, such as the bridge connecting Hong Kong to Zhuhai and Macau, and cooperation over innovation will harness each city’s strengths.