The “China Talent 50 Forum” was held in Guangzhou’s Nansha District on November 21st, during which the first report on the talent competitiveness of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was released by the Center of Center for China and Globalization (CCG).

The report gives a SWOT analysis on the Greater Bay Area and compares it with other Bay Areas around the world before giving the area advices on building an international talent pool.

According to the report, the Greater Bay Area has a strong economic base and the industries of its cities can well complement with each other. Its GDP hit RMB 10 trillion in 2017 and is estimated to exceed Tokyo Bay Area and New York Bay Area in 2022.

In addition, the report indicates that cities in Guangdong should pay more efforts in building an international talent pool as the number of foreign employees is lower than the Bay Areas worldwide.

Wang Huiyao, Head of CCG, suggested that the government could facilitate the talent flow through integrating the taxation, social insurance, health insurance and education systems of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

“It will also be helpful to further simplify the entry and exit process, for example, allowing Greater Bay residents to travel between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao without travel permit,” he said.

During the forum, the Guangzhou government granted subsidies and rewards to 31 entrepreneurs and scientists in key industries such as information technology, AI and new energy who have made profound contribution to the district in 2017.

Li Xiaoyi, founder of ZhaoKe, was one of the awarded entrepreneurs who was granted a 1-million-yuan subsidy. he started his first Nansha company dedicated to anti-tumor drug in 2012 and has been expanding over years. Now the annual sales revenue of his Nansha branches has reached 800 million yuan.

Li said the Greater Bay Area has great transportation network. “The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge facilitates our business a lot. I brought my Japanese clients from Hong Kong through the bridge yesterday. They are impressed by the convenience and feel positive about Nansha’s development because of its location and abundant land supply.”

Li added a variety of talent policies and subsidies give him “the feeling of being home”. “When our business just started in Nansha, we did meet challenges in hiring people. But now we have the green card policy which allow our employees to purchase houses and settle down in the district.”

Being a core city the Greater Bay Area, Nansha has been improving its business environment and living environment since 2012. Thus far, it has more than 1300 high-end professionals settle in the city.