Industry layout of the marine economy in the Greater Bay Area

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has nature advantages for developing its marine economy with a long coastline, a large number of ports, and a vast sea area.

Guangdong province's total marine production value has ranked first in China for 24 consecutive years, accounting for one-fifth of the country's total marine production value, and one-fifth of the province's total GDP. Hong Kong has a developed marine financial system. Hong Kong has a capital market and a good market environment. It has complete legal regulations and flexible capital utilization, which provides strong support for the rapid development of Hong Kong's marine economy. Meanwhile, the central authorities authorized Macao to manage 85 square kilometers of sea areas in 2015, which brought new opportunities for Macao's marine economy.

Offshore equipment in Guangdong province [Photo/VCG] 

Guangdong province has five major marine industries, including offshore equipment, marine organisms, offshore wind power, natural gas hydrates, and marine public service.

Guangdong province will build a high-end smart marine engineering equipment industry and create a national smart marine engineering manufacturing innovation center. It will increase and strengthen the marine organism industry, while promoting the transformation and upgrading of Guangdong's marine economy. It will give priority to the development of marine energy and develop offshore wind power projects. Guangdong will also advance the construction of the pilot test area for natural gas hydrate exploration and exploitation in the South China Sea. In addition, the province will pay attention to coastal tourism and foster international tourism brands.

Macao has 85 square kilometers of sea area, which will become the most important basic condition for participating in the construction of the Greater Bay Area. It not only injects new vitality into the development of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, but also brings new opportunities for the diversified development of the Macao economy. Macao will develop its marine economy on the basis of the 85 square kilometers of sea area, and contribute its strength to the development of the country's marine industry. 

In recent years, the marine industry has gradually extended from traditional fields to areas with higher added value, such as science and technology, finance, and high-end services. The development plan for the Greater Bay Area states that the development of its marine economy should be improved by financial cooperation of the three regions. 

In the future, the Greater Bay Area will learn from Hong Kong's experience, encourage innovation in marine financial models, improve support measures such as taxation, insurance, and bank credit, and develop new types of marine financial instruments such as industrial funds, investment trusts, and marine bonds.

Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macao will give full play to their advantages, building marine science and technology innovation systems with existing universities, scientific research institutions, large enterprises, and key laboratories, while also exploring integrated cooperation mechanisms for production, education, and research.