The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, today (May 28) visited Guangzhou to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Special Cooperation Zone for Intelligent Manufacturing and to exchange views with Mainland scholars on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He also visited an entrepreneurship base for Hong Kong and Macao youths and a development project undertaken by a Hong Kong enterprise in Guangzhou.

     On arrival in the morning, Mr Nip attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Special Cooperation Zone for Intelligent Manufacturing developed and operated by the Guangzhou Development District and a Hong Kong enterprise. The development project comprises the construction of a Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Macao immigration building, an intelligent international exhibition centre and facilities for a Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Macao ferry service.

     Mr Nip said he was pleased to learn that the launch of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Macao ferry service would reduce the travel time between the north-eastern part of Guangzhou and Hong Kong International Airport to 1 hour and 30 minutes, which would help bring in more visitors and business opportunities for the airport.

     He also welcomed the active participation of Hong Kong's business sector in the development of the Greater Bay Area, adding that he hoped the business sector would join with the government to broaden the space for development in the Greater Bay Area.

     Mr Nip then visited the Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies of Sun Yat-sen University and exchanged views with scholars there on the development of the Greater Bay Area. He was also briefed by the Institute on its research and analysis relating to the Greater Bay Area.

     In the afternoon, Mr Nip visited a youth entrepreneurship base of the Guangzhou Tianhe Hong Kong and Macau Youth Association to learn about its operation and facilities. The base is one of the first batch of 10 youth entrepreneurial bases that were presented with a plaque during the 21st Plenary of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference on May 16.

     Mr Nip said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government was supportive of young Hong Kong people participating in the development of the Greater Bay Area, adding that the Government hopes to work with the Guangdong provincial government to establish an Alliance for Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases in future as a one-stop information, publicity and exchange platform to serve Hong Kong young people starting business in the Greater Bay Area.

     He also visited the Guangzhou Chow Tai Fook Finance Centre afterwards to keep abreast of the business development of Hong Kong enterprises in Guangzhou.

     Mr Nip will return to Hong Kong this evening.

Ends/Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Issued at HKT 18:05

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