Hong Kong continues to lead the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in three out of six key industries, according to the 2025 GBA Industry Development Index, released earlier this week by the Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) and Dah Sing Bank.
Those industries were financial services; trade and logistics; and culture, sports and tourism. Shenzhen came out on top for innovation and technology and manufacturing, while Guangzhou led in construction and real estate.
Overall industry growth across the region accelerated from 4.9 percent in 2024 to 7.1 percent this year, led by a 14.8 percent rise in innovation and technology and 8.1 percent growth in manufacturing.
Business sentiment was also improving, though concerns around the China-US trade war remained. The report’s Confidence Index for all six industries rose to 55.5 for 2025 and 57.3 for 2026, up five points from last year’s findings.
[See more: GBA business confidence hits a four-year high in the third quarter]
“The data reflects a positive attitude among enterprises towards current industry development and a generally optimistic outlook for the year ahead,” it said.
The index paid particular attention to AI’s role in increasing efficiency, describing it as “a core engine driving industrial upgrades and the development of new quality productive forces in the region.”
It noted that 94.5 percent of the more than 3,400 GBA enterprises surveyed were already using AI to cut costs, boost efficiency or create new income streams. However, they reported hurdles around staff’s AI literacy, data security and limited availability of public AI platforms.
The index also found that over half of respondents aimed to expand overseas, especially those in innovation and technology, trade and logistics, and manufacturing. It highlighted Hong Kong’s potential to help mainland enterprises achieve this, recommending that the SAR develop a “comprehensive going global value chain” comprising market research, product development and certification, sandbox testing and small-batch production.
