This undated file photo shows an aerial view of the 599-meter Ping An International Finance Centre, the fourth-tallest building in the world, in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. (WU LUPING / FOR CHINA DAILY)
More than 60 percent of accounting and finance professionals believe that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will develop into a leading global technology hub within five years, according to a new survey.
The survey, conducted by accounting body CPA Australia, revealed that 44 percent of respondents consider financial technology as the technology that will best facilitate collaboration within the Greater Bay Area, while 39 percent believe that fintech will create more business opportunities and enhance the status of the Greater Bay Area as a global financial center.
The survey, conducted by accounting body CPA Australia, revealed that 44 percent of respondents consider financial technology as the technology that will best facilitate collaboration within the Greater Bay Area
Eden Wong, deputy president of CPA Australia in Greater China, said: “Further financial integration is likely to provide a boost to the development of the GBA as a global financial center. Technologies may facilitate capital flows between GBA cities and encourage robust business activities.”
The survey was conducted among 258 accounting and finance professionals from different industries in Hong Kong, Macao, and the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area.
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Eighty-nine percent of respondents expect their organization to increase its investment or use of technology in the next year. But preferences for future technology differ between Hong Kong, Macao and other Greater Bay Area cities in the mainland, with 45 percent of respondents in mainland cities in the region expecting data analytics and visualization software to be the top technology for increased investment or use, while video conferencing and group collaboration tools were the top choice of 39 percent of respondents in Hong Kong and Macao.
The survey also found that despite 68 percent of respondents believing that the current workforce in the Greater Bay Area has moderate to high levels of technology skills, more than a third of respondents said that a talent shortage is the biggest challenge facing businesses in promoting technology adoption.
“Talent supply and data assets are conducive to creating a sustainable ecosystem to nurture more technology companies in the GBA and to support the digital strategies of non-tech businesses”, said Albert Wong, a member of CPA Australia’s GBA Committee.
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He also suggested that Greater Bay Area authorities consider introducing more resources and policies to attract and retain tech-savvy talent or to upskill or reskill the current workforce with relevant technology skills.
suzihan@chinadailyhk.com