Analysis | Hengqin likely to be as developed as Shenzhen

Barry Wilson

Shenzhen has rapidly developed into a city with an economic status and output to rival that of Shanghai, China’s very own global financial hub.

Barry Wilson, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Shenzhen, predicted yesterday that Hengqin, which is currently undergoing development, will develop in a similar manner to Shenzhen.

“They’re going to produce exactly what they say they’re going to produce. […] it’s a great opportunity for Macau to integrate with Hengqin,” he said.

Wilson, who is the director of a construction consultancy firm and also a scholar, argued that Shenzhen has outperformed Guangzhou in several areas as the leading city in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, particularly in technology and design-
related industries.

He attributed the city’s economic growth to its ability to attract talent, due to the jobs offered by internet and finance companies headquartered in the area, as well as local property prices.

Last year, Shenzhen surpassed Beijing and Shanghai as the mainland’s most expensive housing market, Wilson pointed out.

Speaking on the sidelines of the British Business Association of Macau’s (BBAM) monthly breakfast talk, Wilson acknowledged that the significant and rapid growth of the modern metropolis was due to the visionary government.

“The government has been given a mandate for this to happen and they’ve done it. The environment they’ve created has absolutely been pro-business; there’s been all sorts of incentives for companies,” he explained. That is why, he argued, Shenzhen is slated to be China’s second most prominent city, outstripping Shanghai.

Questioned by the Times as to how and why Hong Kong and Macau have lagged behind Shenzhen in their development of industries such as technology and design, Wilson noted that the two SARs were unable to strategically plan for the long term.

“They have had the central government quite happy to give them freedom to carry on in their own way, but at the same time the government here has not felt totally in control to make their own vision,” he said.

“Hong Kong has not really moved forward in 20 years; it hasn’t been able to adapt. It’s trying to protect a lot of the cornerstones and benchmarks of its economies in a very changing landscape, and I think you need to be flexible in today’s world in business and strategic [planning].”

In an article he had written, Wilson proposed that nothing much has changed since the SAR’s handover to China from the British. He cited his belief that Hong Kong is experiencing a long period of economic stagnation, saying “it’s ‘can do’ moniker [is] being replaced by a ‘won’t do’ determination.”

Shenzhen – a former fishing community turned industrial and financial megacity, with a current population of over 10 million – is embracing its reputation as Asia’s emerging Silicon Valley. Its 2016 GDP rose 9 percent to RMB1.95 trillion.

The chairman also proposed that Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen start to strategically plan and collaborate in different areas in order to provide much-needed services in the PRD.

“Macau has to think of where it is in the Pearl River Delta, what’s our function and how we play with everybody else […] rather than to compete,” Wilson added. “We’ve got to stop thinking about Macau, Shenzhen and Hong Kong and start thinking in the Pearl River Delta [region].”