Greater Bay Area

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Finding Greatness in China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA), part III: The GBA as (yet) another “Silicon Valley”

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard
Posted: Jan 17, 2022

This series’s first blog notes the GBA seeks to create a global innovation, research, and technology hub in the mold of “Silicon Valley.” There are many reasons to expect success. These range from a “cocktail of inputs” including massive government support to huge capital pools to a strong ecosystem for research to prominent artificial intelligence, health tech, robotics, smart city, and telecommunications players with extensive patents and research and development (R&D) spending to broad and deep (and continuously improving) hard infrastructure.

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Finding Greatness in China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA), part II: Implications for IFDI and OFDI

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard
Posted: Oct 06, 2021

China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA), detailed in my last blog, appears an obvious magnet for inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and catalyst for outward FDI (OFDI). Beijing’s backing, infrastructure improvements, supportive government science and technology (S&T) policies, the GBA’s surfeit of supply networks, and the GBA’s scale and diversity should attract inward FDI (IFDI). The GBA’s role as a financial center and the relaxation of barriers to outward capital flows promise greater OFDI. Some question the GBA’s ability to realize its lofty aims given myriad barriers to internal flows, the vagueness of government plans, and dearth of true technology leaders.

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Finding Greatness in China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA), part I: Diving into the Bay

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard
Posted: Aug 04, 2021

Possessing about a decade-long lineage, China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) formally began in 2017 with the signing of a Framework Agreement between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The objective is to create a mega economic cluster, involving 11 cities (e.g., Guangzhou, Dongguan, Hong Kong, Macao, and Shenzhen) that will be a leading international financial hub, a major global innovation center, a critical node between China and Southeast Asia, a world-class research center in fields such as biotechnology, and, more recently, a major link to China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

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Dashing for the Door Due to Dealing in Data or Singapore Sling

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard
Posted: Jul 26, 2020

The recent passage of the National Security Law for Hong Kong has raised all kinds of quandaries for high-technology and other companies, especially those that deal in data. This is so because the new law makes it easier for government authorities to access data, restrict the kinds of content that are published, and control the transmission of data. In the event of noncompliance with (vague and likely fluid) regulations, firms risk significant fines, imprisonment, or other sanctions. There has been a mild reaction by big firms such as Apple, Facebook, and Google, but they are not located in Hong Kong per se and their longer-term plans are unclear. Businesses actually located in Hong Kong face a serious quandary.

MNCs in the News-2020-02-21

China’s Ministry of Commerce reports that inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in January reflected a small increase over the same period last year, with South Korea’s inward FDI (IFDI) surging and IFDI in medical equipment and instrumentation showing strong increases. Foreign businesses seem attracted by the Greater Bay Area’s promise of market opportunities and ongoing market liberalization, though policy, legal, and regulatory barriers still deter/concern some. The coronavirus’s adverse effect on the movement of goods within and outside China has affected some Belt and Road Initiative projects. Chinese contractors in Indonesia reject foreign media reports coronavirus has had a significant adverse impact on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project. Japan issues new rules relating to FDI screening in the wake of the passage of its Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. Japan’s Shimizu and Indonesian state-owned enterprise form joint venture to extend Jakarta’s mass transit system. Korea’s LG Chem wins default judgement from United States (US) International Trade Commission regarding its lawsuit against SK Innovation for violating its electric vehicle rechargeable battery trade secrets. Korea’s Samsung faces Iranian retaliation for restricting Galaxy stores app services to Iranian users.

MNCs in the News-2018-09-21

China takes a softer stance on dominating the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector at the World AI Conference in Shanghai. Summer Davos observers and participants stress the progress of the [China] Greater Bay Area in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). Alibaba’s Jack Ma retreats from promise to create 1 million jobs in United States (US). Germany looks to pursue more measures, including a billion euro investment fund, to control Chinese FDI flows into the country. Japanese chemical firms boost FDI in Southeast Asia to ramp up production to fill the space flowing from reduced production of Chinese firms that cannot meet China’s environmental requirements. Building upon the foundation created by Japanese and Indian leaders, Japanese companies and investors are pouring money into India to support IT startups. South and North Korea agreed to take steps to reconnect infrastructure links and restart discontinued inter-Korean projects. South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering signed Memoranda of Understanding with Indonesian officials regarding the expansion of its industrial facilities and the construction of a hydroelectric power plant there.

Executive Director Jean-Marc F. Blanchard to speak at 20th (2018) China Venture Capital & Private Equity Forum (Shenzhen)

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, the Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations (Wong MNC Center), will speak at the 20th (2018) China Venture Capital & Private Equity Forum held from June 8-10 in Shenzhen, China. Dr. Blanchard will speak on "Hard Ways to Facilitate Soft Cooperation: The Case of the (China) Greater Bay Area" at a panel considering how to enhance cooperation in the Guangdong-Macao-Hong Kong (China) Greater Bay Area (粤港澳大湾区).