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Several departments in Guangdong Province have jointly issued the "Guangdong Province Entrepreneurship Guaranteed Loan Implementation Measures," effective from March 1, 2026. The measures stipulate that individuals can borrow up to 600,000 yuan, and small and micro enterprises can borrow up to 5 million yuan, with a 50% financial discount on interest, using financial means to support entrepreneurship and drive employment.

On February 25, Guangdong's lifelong learning platform for all was officially launched. Serving as a province-wide, unified super learning ecosystem, a single account grants access to educational resources across Guangdong. The platform features six major projects and five distinctive mechanisms, offering over 300,000 continuing education spots annually and aiming to train more than 2 million person-times. It also provides tailored learning programs for key groups, including workers in new business formats and the elderly.

The Chinese mainland has launched a pilot program for the digitalization of notarized documents for Hong Kong investors across 14 provinces and cities, streamlining the notarization process. Through platform integration, market regulatory authorities can directly access and retrieve electronic documents, and in principle, paper versions will no longer be required. This enhances the registration efficiency for Hong Kong-invested enterprises and facilitates investment and business operations for Hong Kong investors in the mainland.

The State Taxation Administration has issued new measures for the administration of value-added tax and consumption tax refunds (and exemptions) on exports, effective from January 1, 2026. The new rules streamline filing forms, consolidating five forms into one, and relax requirements for filing changes, allowing enterprises to make changes without settling taxes under certain circumstances. This facilitates a more convenient process for enterprises applying for export tax rebates.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area saw impressive foreign trade growth. In 2025, their total imports and exports reached RMB9.15 trillion, accounting for 20.1% of the national total. Private enterprises led the way, contributing 64.1% of the trade. Trade with Belt and Road countries surged by 44.1%. Exports of the "new trio" (electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells) skyrocketed by 311.3%, and the share of high-tech products continued to rise. Imports remained focused on electronic equipment and energy resources, underscoring a steadily improving trade structure.

Hong Kong has established cooperation mechanisms with eight mainland provinces to deeply engage in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) development. Collaboration spans finance, logistics, innovation, and legal services, enhancing rule alignment and resource flow. The SAR Government actively aligns with national strategies, leveraging its "super-connector" role to strengthen its status as an international hub for finance, shipping, and trade, contributing to the GBA's goal of becoming a high-quality development demonstration zone.

Hong Kong's Department of Justice has formed a high-level preparatory group to align with the national 15th Five-Year Plan. Led by Secretary Paul Lam, it will leverage Hong Kong's international legal strengths to aid national development.

"The Guangdong Province White Paper on the Synergistic Development of Manufacturing and Service Industries" has been officially released. It systematically outlines strategies for the deep integration of these two sectors in the Greater Bay Area. By leveraging digital technologies and promoting the servitization of manufacturing, the white paper aims to accelerate the establishment of a modern industrial system. This provides crucial guidance for building a world-class advanced manufacturing cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Guangdong uses AI to blur manufacturing-service lines. Through "AI+", it enables tech spillover from manufacturing and scenario integration in services—like automakers applying smart driving tech to humanoid robots, or industrial platforms using "small but smart" models to aid SME transformation. Hong Kong entrepreneurs in the GBA can tap into the region's strong industrial base, diverse scenarios, and policy support to join the "technology-scenario-data" cycle, seizing opportunities from advanced manufacturing and modern service synergy.

A new tax incentive for GBA cross-border e-commerce enterprises has been announced by three government departments, effective 2026 to end-2027. To reduce return costs, goods exported under methods like 1210 or 9610 that are returned to China in original condition within six months due to poor sales or returns (excluding food) will be exempt from import tariffs and import-linked VAT and consumption tax. This policy aims to alleviate financial pressure on businesses.

Guangdong Province has unveiled a 2026 plan for equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, covering subsidies for items such as automobiles and home appliances. Hong Kong businesses can seize opportunities in the Greater Bay Area by participating in supply chain optimization, introducing high-efficiency and energy-saving products, and leveraging tax incentives to expand into the mainland market, capitalizing on the green consumption dividend.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has introduced three new "Bay Area Standards," covering senior travel, cross-border credit investigations, and coastal monitoring. Hong Kong businesses can adopt these unified standards to provide professional services, reducing cross-border transaction costs and enhancing their competitiveness in the Bay Area market.

By end of 2025, Guangdong's skilled talent pool hit 22.38m, including 8.43m high-skilled workers—both ranking first nationwide, bolstering its modern industries.

A trillion-yuan relending policy for private firms has been first implemented in Guangdong. The initial 2.5 billion yuan in credit funds have been disbursed to support micro and small enterprises.

Guangdong issues guidelines to curb "involution" in finance. A $12.4bn foreign semiconductor project lands in Guangzhou. Shenzhen allocates nearly $800mn to boost consumption. John Lee outlines 5 directions for HK to align with the national 15th Five-Year Plan.