This aerial photo taken on June 29, 2022 shows a view of the Nansha Bridge, which links Guangzhou city and Dongguan city, in south China's Guangdong province. (LIU DAWEI / XINHUA)

Overseas enterprises’ interest in investing and doing business in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is growing, with 70 percent of those polled planning to expand their operations there within the next three years, the latest HSBC survey shows.

Among them, 27 percent said they will scale up their businesses in the southern region significantly, according to the results of the survey published on Tuesday.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region remained the most popular destination for the companies’ expansion plans, with 47 percent of them saying they would pick the international financial center. Guangzhou and Shenzhen ranked second and third at 37 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

Our survey shows that technological advancement and the scale of the consumer market in the Greater Bay Area are a strong allure for overseas enterprises. The economically integrated region will continue to serve as a gateway to the Chinese mainland by opening its markets and propelling the growth of cross-boundary trade and investment.

Daniel Chan, Head of Greater Bay Area at HSBC

The survey, which was conducted in September last year, covered about 3,400 enterprises in 16 markets, including seven RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) members -- the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

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Enterprises in the RCEP member countries are particularly upbeat about the Greater Bay Area’s economic outlook. Sixty percent of them believe the 11-city cluster’s economic growth rate would exceed that of the nation in the next three years -- 15 percent higher than those from non-RCEP countries -- the survey shows.

More than 30 percent of the respondents from RCEP countries said they intend to significantly raise the scale of their business operations in the Greater Bay Area in the next three years -- nearly 10 percent higher than those from other overseas markets.

The RCEP enterprises are also more willing to expand in mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, with 48 percent of them choosing Guangzhou, 44 percent for Hong Kong and 38 percent for Shenzhen.

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“Leveraging its geographical advantages, as well as its sizable and highly internationalized market, the Greater Bay Area is set to become an important hub with strong ties with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members under the RCEP,” said Daniel Chan, head of Greater Bay Area at HSBC.

“Our survey shows that technological advancement and the scale of the consumer market in the Greater Bay Area are a strong allure for overseas enterprises. The economically integrated region will continue to serve as a gateway to the Chinese mainland by opening its markets and propelling the growth of cross-boundary trade and investment.”

All the respondents in the survey shared a similar view on key investment areas. Forty-five percent of them said technology and innovation will be their top priority, while 39 percent said they will enhance the reliability of supply chains, and upgrade digital infrastructure.