Cushman & Wakefield Releases Research on Innovation and Technology Development and Property Opportunities in the Greater Bay Area

Development of Innovation & Technology in the Greater Bay Area�Hinges on “Joint Forces”

HONG KONG, CHINA
–  Media OutReach - 15 October 2018 – Cushman & Wakefield, a global leader
in commercial real estate services, recently released the fourth report in the
Research Series of Greater Bay Area (GBA) — “Innovation and Technology
Drive Development: Research on Innovation and Technology Industry and Property
Opportunities in the Greater Bay Area”. The report focuses on Hong Kong,
Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan and analyses the development status and main
advantages and disadvantages of the innovation and technology industry and
property opportunities in each of these four cities. It also offers an outlook
on the coordination and cooperation of different cities as the GBA further
develops.

 

Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and
Dongguan and their respective edge

 

The
report said that innovation and technology industries of Hong Kong, Shenzhen,
Guangzhou and Dongguan have begun to establish their respective competitive
advantages:

 

Hong Kong: The meeting point for
global innovation elements.
As one of the top three global financial centres, Hong Kong is the meeting
point for global innovation elements, high-end talents and corporate
institutions. At the same time, thanks to its international business model and
service system, it is undoubtedly the most important gateway city for high-tech
enterprises from the GBA to connect with the international market. Hong Kong’s
financial infrastructures are highly developed. Many fintech companies have set
up office in the city which in turn helps bring global capital to the
innovation and technology industry of the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong has a good
number of internationally top-ranking universities and high-end scientific
research institutions, with outstanding research talents and extensive
experience in technological research and development, intellectual property and
related fields. This helps drive innovation in Hong Kong and throughout the GBA.

 

Shenzhen: The dynamic frontier of
innovation and technology.
In 2010, high-tech industry was established as one of the four pillar
industries in Shenzhen. The industry has outstanding achievements after years
of development. The added value of the industry accounts for over 30% of GDP
for years. It is undoubtedly the first growth point and the first pillar
industry in Shenzhen’s economy. In the long process of developing high-tech
industry, Shenzhen has formed a system based on R&D enterprises,
market-oriented and supported by academic research that facilities the creation
and application of innovative technologies. As a frontier of reform, Shenzhen
has produced a number of outstanding world-class and national top 500
enterprises in just over 30 years of development. These industry giants have
not only played a huge leading and driving role in industrial development, but
also have helped attract upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry to
cultivate an incubation platform and market environment. Vibrant enterprises
are the foundation for industrial development. Whether it is the number of
leading innovation and technology enterprises currently based in Shenzhen, or
the development trend of the emerging unicorn enterprises, we have every reason
to expect that Shenzhen will become the leader of innovation and technology in GBA.

 

Guangzhou: The internal drive and hub
of innovation in the GBA.
As an important industrial base in the country, Guangzhou has 35 of the 41 main
industrial sectors in China. Its manufacturing and service industries are the
most developed and most comprehensive among cities in southern China. At the
end of 2017, the production value of the three pillar industries of automobile
manufacturing, electronic product manufacturing and petrochemical manufacturing
industry successively broke through the RMB100 billion levels, which drove the
rapid development of Guangzhou’s overall economy. At the same time, Guangzhou
actively cultivates strategic emerging industries. The manufacturing
industries, which is represented by automobile, electronic products and
petrochemicals, were transformed and upgraded by the wave of technological
innovation, which helped accelerate the development of emerging industries such
as IAB (Information technology, artificial intelligence, biomedicine) and NEM
(New/Renewable energy & materials). Together, they help advance Guangzhou
to the league of international innovation hubs. Meanwhile, its total number of
colleges and universities ranks third in China which is a continuous supply of
talents. High-quality scientific research institutions also form an important
part of the “Innovative Brain” of Guangzhou and facilitate the
development of innovation and technology in the GBA.

 

Dongguan: From “Made in
China” to “Created in China”. In 2017, the total GDP of Dongguan
City surpassed RMB758.2 billion, an increase of 8.1% over the previous year. It
was above the average GDP of the Guangdong province and China, and ranked
fourth in the province and 19th in the country. However, as economic
development enters a new stage, upgrading of industrial structure has become a
must for sustainable development. In particular, the development of high-tech
manufacturing industries represented by smart manufacturing plays a core role
in the transformation of “Made in Dongguan” to “Created in
Dongguan”. In the context of developing the GBA, the geographical
advantage, strong industrial base, ample industrial and policy support have
attracted more and more enterprises to gather there. Dongguan is positioned to
be the advanced manufacturing center of the GBA, the application ground for the
IT and R&D achievements in the region and features heavily on the
development chain of the innovation and technology industry.

 

Weakening boundaries between cities
facilities efficient flow of production factors

Author
of the report, Xiaoduan Zhang, Director
and Head of Research, South & West China of Cushman & Wakefield
said, “In the process of integration of the GBA, thanks to the
establishment of ‘1-hour traffic circle’ and the overall planning of the GBA
coordinating agencies, the flow of various factors of production will be freer
and more efficient. The degree of industry concentration, talent availability,
transportation convenience, preferential incentive policies, occupancy costs,
supporting incubation facilities etc. are all important factors that affect the
layout of enterprises. Different cities and even different districts with their
unique characteristics in the GBA will gradually establish their own
competitive advantages and attract the most suitable industries and enterprises
under market forces, which ultimately will lead to reasonable layout of
different segments of different industries or industrial chains in the GBA and
ensure its healthy, sustainable and efficient development.”

 

(Note: Industrial parks from top:
Nanshan Hi-tech Park, Hong Kong Science Park, Tianhe Intelligence City,
Guangzhou Science City, Dongguan Songshan Lake)

  

Cities complementing each other will
create “bigger force”

 

Jiang Binghe, Senior Director,
General Manager of Business Marketing, The Greater Bay Area Services and Free
Trade Port in Hainan of Cushman & Wakefield, said, “The various cities and
districts in the GBA need to leverage their own advantages, while making full
use of different resources for synergy and integration, so that the difficulties
and problems encountered by various industries in the cities can be
resolved.”

 

“The
integration of the GBA depends on building a more efficient and inter-connected
transportation system, breaking barriers to the regional development policy system,
and to change the existing development pattern through guidance and
stimulation, which will ultimately promote a free and efficient flow of
important production factors in the GBA. This will not only support the
development of the GBA but will also bring more opportunities for the
development of various sectors and various fields of real estate.”

 

Hong Kong is a springboard for GBA
research achievements to reach the world stage

 

John Siu, Managing Director, Hong
Kong of Cushman & Wakefield,
said, “As a melting pot for talents with free flow of information, Hong
Kong has attracted the attention of more and more fintech companies. An
increasing number of them have chosen to set up office in Hong Kong, some even
in core business areas in order to increase market share and to raise their
corporate profiles. This will create a bigger mass of the fintech industry in
the city. In addition, government-funded projects such as the Science Park and
the Lok Ma Chau Loop will attract start-ups and local enterprises to enter the
GBA and expand the scale of the industrial market. These are important
conditions for nurturing Hong Kong into an international center of innovation
and technology. Hong Kong, as the “Super-connector” in the GBA, will
be able to bring important research achievements in the Bay Area to the
international arena.”

 

Please click here to
download the full report (Chinese version only).

 

About Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman
& Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate services firm that
delivers exceptional value by putting ideas into action for real estate
occupiers and owners. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate
services firms with 48,000 employees in approximately 400 offices and 70
countries. Across Greater China, there are 20 offices servicing the local
market. The company won four of the top awards in the Euromoney Survey 2017
& 2018 in the categories of Overall, Agency Letting/Sales, Valuation and
Research in China. In 2017, the firm had revenue of $6.9 billion across core
services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital
markets, advisory and other services. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com.hk or follow us on
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