BayWa

The European edition of the Fortune 500, ranking companies by revenue.

Fortune 500 Europe

The first-ever European edition of the Fortune 500, ranking companies by revenue. 

F500 Europe Festakt 100 Jahre BayWa

BayWa ranks 135 with $28.5 billion in revenue (up 21.3%). The Germany-headquartered wholesaler has 22,508 employees and made a profit of $177 million (up 111.5%).

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BayWa Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

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Jing Guangjun, Chairman, Guangzhou Industrial Investment Holdings Group  Liu Libin, Deputy General Manager, Guangdong Guangxin Holdings Group   Shen Minggao, Chief Global Economist, Dean, Industrial Research Institute, Gf Securities. Wilson Pang, Head Of Kpmg China Gba Strategy & Development Office, Kpmg Moderated By Wang Fang, Fortune China

Innovation Forum 2024: China’s Greater Bay Area As Innovation Catalyst

Conferences

Jing Guangjun, Guangzhou Industrial Investment Holdings Group, Liu Libin, Guangdong Guangxin Holdings Group  Shen Minggao, Industrial Research Institute, Gf Securities. Wilson Pang, Kpmg

The first a reminder this session will be conducted in Chinese. Uh So if you need the headphone, uh they're on the table for your use. Um So today we are going to use Chinese to do this panel. And if you're not familiar with Greater Bay Area, I want to use a certain number to tell you what the Greater Bay area is. It includes two SARS Hong Kong and Macao, as well as nine cities in Guangdong province. So um the size is similar to Netherlands and the population is the size of Germany and the GDP is equal equals Korea. OK. And um if we regard it as an economy, it is, it has ranked top within top 10 and it covers 1% of the of China's area, 6% of the population, 11% of GDP. And it is home to the world class factory uh manufacturer Guangzhou and it is also home to Hong Kong. Um Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau. So the Greater Bay Area is really big, consisting of unique, different country, uh different cities. So my first question goes to Doctor Shen, you once mentioned that in one area. Uh the Greater Bay area is the only area consisting of three world class cities in a single area. Ah Yes, of course. Our government really wants to make the Greater Bay area the world class Bay area. We have three world class cities in the in this single Greater Bay area that is they are Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong Sar. So we have a really vast range of application scenarios in the Pearl River Delta. So Hong Kong is adjacent to one of the largest supply chain in China. And we in Hong Kong itself will provide a large financial market. So we want to build the greater Bay area as a offshore um a offshore market while with uh backed by the economic development in the Chinese mainland. So that means Hong Kong will strengthen its connection with the international capital market while strengthening its affinity to the Chinese mainland. Ah So that's a very good start. Um You've mentioned about the size of the Greater Bay area as well as the role played by Hong Kong in the Greater Bay area. And today we also have two delegates from a real economy, real economic entity. So we can start from Mr Liu Li Bing from Guangdong, Guangdong Guangxi holdings group. Are you actually from a provincial state owned investment group and now in the Greater Bay Area due to different policies, the flow of the capital and the flow of talents are more convenient. So how do you benefit from this kind of flow. How do you benefit from the development of Greater Bay Area as a whole? Oh, thank you, Guangxi. Our company is a provincial ah state owned enterprise in Guangdong Province. We are located in the Greater Bay area and we have been benefited from the development of this area as a whole. We've made several adjustments to our company. So here are two things I want to mention. First, we hope that our company could become the leader in the emerging industries of the Greater Bay area. And secondly, I hope that we need to start from the Greater Bay area and expand our global market. So during the past few years, our investment strategies have been shifted from the traditional me methodologies. There are something new changes going on, for example, um two months ago, we have finished, we have finished the investment over a semi semiconductor material um company in China. We will help this semi conduct conductor company to settle down in the Greater Bay area and we will uh further leverage relative policies. In addition, we also invested in materials for NEVS as well as for uh energy storage. So we, I think through the investment in this new newly emerging industries, we can benefit a lot and there are also a lot of emerging enterprises in the Greater Bay Area as well, proposing much opportunities for us. Secondly, we um hope that we can start from Greater Bay area. The Greater Bay area is just a starting point for us. We hope that uh starting from here, we can have more investments in overseas market like Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa. And we need to um shift our manufacturing capacities overseas. I and also we we need to learn from our international counterparts. For example, there are lots of like advanced international enterprises, they have advanced technologies and in the Greater Bay Area, we have materials so we can com be, be complimentary to each other. We can form a synergy with international counterparts. So as to improve our overall capacity altogether, um and strong enterprises will build a strong Greater Bay area. Uh So Guang Xing is actually a state owned capital and thank you for sharing your insights in the Greater Bay area. So uh there are two folds of perspectives of uh uh things that you need to do. One is that you need to empower other companies like uh in terms of the new productive forces. And second, you want to expand your international market. Now, next question goes to Mr Jing, your company is also backed by the state owned capital and I know that you are also a member to the C PC CC, right? Uh I believe that you have uh put forward many proposals that related to the infrastructure of the Greater Bay area. So I would like to hear from you about the relationship between the Greater Bay area and your company. Um It is a great time for me to join the round table here. Um for today's meeting, I think that Chinese seems to be a uh language, a language that not many people speak of. Um Actually, that's a good question raised by the moderator for our company. We actually share the dividends of the development of the Greater Bay area and we are now focusing on the investments uh of advanced manufacturing, including the new energy, new materials or high end equipment, as well as the industrial intelligence and so on. So during the development of the Greater Bay area, um I the two uh the most prominent benefits that we enjoy is that first of all, in the Greater Bay area, the industry chain is relatively complete. For example, the uh the industrial chain in uh electronic devices, all kinds of three c consumer electronics products. For example, when there is an order 20 within 24 hours, we can complete the design and the proving of the preliminary prototype to the delivery of the product. So the efficiency is very high. Um And in the Greater Bay area, the whole industrial chain is quite complete. Thank you. And I I, as I remember that last year, you have mentioned in an interview about the policies inside the Greater Bay area. So can you further explain on that? For example, from the perspective of industry, how can the Greater Bay area do better in connectivity? So I think that the competitiveness of the Greater Bay area lies in the high end industrial eco ecosystem, actually the competition between different industries, they are not the competition between uh between single enterprises. However, we focus more on the, you know, the synergy, the corporation within the whole ecosystem. And in the future, for example, we have talked about innovation, talk about artificial intelligence, right? So we believe artificial intelligence will be the most valuable factor in the future. So how can we realize the mobility of data? How can we realize the transformation of value in terms of data? That's quite important. So we really need to focus on the new uh driving force, the new business model, the new landscape. How can we find a endogenous driving force? I believe that the next the new generation of artificial intelligence and data with large models as a core will be the embodiment of the of this value process, right? You have mentioned about the mobility of technology, the mobility of data. So I think that is a question of mobility of human resources, capital and materials. And now I would like to raise my question to Doctor Shen. Uh actually I have talked to you offline recently and we can see there are a lot of financial arrangements. So can you further elaborate on your opinion just now because Hong Kong is actually a offshore RMB market for China. However, in terms of the GEO opposition Hong Kong is just next to the Guangdong province. So the geo geo geography position is quite unique for Hong Kong. So what kind of capital or what kind of the role should Hong Kong play in the development of economy? Actually, there are many mechanisms for interconnection between Hong Kong and the mainland. For example, the stock connect um the bond connect the wealth management connects, right? However, this money are quite scattered. I think from the perspective of capital market, we need to connect all these like stock nes or bond connects, we need to put all this money together that will require a innovation or a reform. And from the perspective of the Greater Bay area, what do we need? First of all, we need capital for technology, we need the money but this money is no longer the concept we have mentioned before. This capital should be well aware of the technology should be well aware of the industrial application scenarios and should also be well aware of the pricing risks of new technologies. Meaning that if I invest $1 in this market or in this enterprise, I really want to see the value added here. So I think Hong Kong can provide this kind of money. And on the other hand, because the mainland is on a precision or the process of long term transformation. So I think we need capital with patience to be part of the transformation and development of the mainland. I think Hong Kong has an advantage because there are many different types of investors around the world. Some capital are quite are patient, some others are not. So I think Hong Kong can better serve as the superconductor to connect the industrial application scenarios in Hong Kong as well as in the Greater Bay area. So the capital, the the technology capital you have mentioned that actually you are saying that Hong Kong can serve as an international financial center, but they can also serve a harbor for talent, it can better facilitate the development. So whenever the capital enter from Hong Kong to the mainland, they can have better understanding towards the technology, right? And we have another guest Wilson from Hong Kong. Uh you are also a member to the C PC CC. So can you share with us about the Hong Kong's unique position in the GB A? And what is the role? Uh Thank you for your question. I believe that every one of you have heard of the structure of the Greater Bay area, right? That is nine plus 29 cities from the mainland and two sar namely Hong Kong. I said I'm A CS A R but the Greater Bay area is not a area for the mainland. It's a world class Bay area, right? So the the name world class require Hong Kong and Macau to contribute. We want to contribute to promote the Greater Bay area become a really international one So whether Hong Kong serves as the International Financial Center or uh International Innovation Center, we hope that Hong Kong can better help the Greater Bay area to go global. So can you provide us some specific measures or some use cases? Ok. Uh Actually, you have listened to the talk provided by previous speakers, we have talked about innovation, right? Actually, today's forum is called Innovation Forum. We have touched upon a lot of new technology. Uh however, in a just concluded two sessions, they put forward new concept called new Quality Productive Force. They they talked about three factors namely technology, talent and education and you can find all three factors in in Hong Kong. And we boast the technology, the talent and education here in Hong Kong. So here in Hong Kong, if we have some like technology or technical uh results, we can apply this tech technical results in the industry. And when the industry use money, this money can be put forward for financing so we can get the whole circulation going. So the whole circulation can help Hong Kong to maintain its positioning as a superconductor. Um Actually I have, I have a I have read a report saying that many young people from Hong Kong are going to shop in the Sam's Club in Shenzhen. So that's that's a reverse trend compared with what we see several years ago when people from the mainland come to shop in Hong Kong. So the reason why we saw this kind of changes is that first of all, um it is quite convenient for us to go through the custom clearance. The second uh the second reason is that you can join the uh traveling Group. Whenever you finish the shopping in Shenzhen, this traveling group agency can help us to deliver all the things we buy back to Hong Kong, right? So this is a so called one hour life circle. And inside this one hour life circle, the mobility of people of vehicles, of goods is quite is of high efficiency. So my question is that how can we attract talent for the Greater Bay area? For example, uh we know that because I have, I have been living in Hong Kong and I know how Hong Kong will attract people to work and live and stay here. So my question is that Hong Kong, how can Hong Kong better attract talent and to uh to divert this talent to the mainland so that these talents can both work and live in Hong Kong as well as the mainland. Uh right. Actually, I have talked to a fund manager from Israeli Fund Manager, he staying in Shenzhen and he has mentioned a really important point. Now the innovation process has been changed. So the mindset should also change. We should provide or arrange innovation process according or per upon the demands of the talent and many enterprises tell me that they want to build a innovation center wherever there is a large amount of talent. So I think since Hong Kong boasts a large amount of talent, Hong Kong should better serve these talents. When more and more young innovative talents gather together here in Hong Kong, then they can better they can provide services to the mainland. So for Hong Kong, first of all, they need to attract many people here in Hong Kong and then send these people to the mainland or let them work conveniently let them commute conveniently between Hong Kong and the mainland. Um Actually there are many specific procedure uh process or measures, for example, uh for those enterprises registered in Hong Kong, we can grant them a um a reservation in the mainland or provide them some convenient policies when they are doing business in the mainland. So I think Hong Kong can definitely give full play to its own advantages. And I think the greater Bay area will definitely become a world class area around the world. So I really, I really agree with you on your point that wherever the talents are, we should set up the innovation hubs there. So my question is goes to Mr Liu that can you share with us about a cases that how can the greater Bay area make use of different talent resources? Right? I think the greater Bay area not only boasts the excellent ports and facilities, but we should also lay out uh have the layout in advanced productivity. If we want to pursue advanced productivity, we should definitely relied on talent and innovation. So we are quite delighted to see that in the past few years, we have gather a large amount of talent here in the Greater Bay area with the establishment of like new universities, new uh research in the institutions. So for our company for Guangxi, we are a greater Bay area based enterprises, right? So we have a business sector like in biotechnology and food technology. So we set up an institute in Guangming Street in Shenzhen. The reason why we choose Shenzhen is that because I think Shenzhen is considered as the Silicon Valley in China, right? So under this backdrop, we hope that the setting of our headquarters or our institute in Shenzhen can benefit the gathering of the talent. Um so we can establish a favorable environment so as to uh better attract more talent to come here and to generate more results for the whole industry. In addition to that, we have also participated into the establishment of uh a um bio biological bio manufacturing innovation center. We are one of the shareholder of that and also we have teamed up with NL and thats all you know, it's a globally renowned food company. And several years ago, they reached out to us because our company was doing uh is doing fermentation extraction. So the team of NSO came to us to talk about the co collaboration over a natural food development. So the both sides have strengthened our uh research and development and worked out together to develop some new products. And um this new products have been manufactured in more than 400 factories of nasal. So they are using your technology, right. Yes, they are using our technology. We are actually uh we work together to develop this technology and they use this technology to produce that food. So it's a very good example of collaboration. Um So in the future, we can enhance collaboration like this and to leverage our advantages, uh we need to increase our R and D and attract more talent. Uh Of course, we will always stay in close contact with international companies in terms of uh our research and development, in terms of uh for application of the technologies. So um for the enterprises to go global or to collaborate with other enterprises. So the Greater Bay Area, the enterprises in Greater Bay area is actually backed by the whole bay. Um So due to time limit, I will ask the last round of question just now. A lot of people saying that the Chinese government aims to build the Greater Bay area into the top greater top Bay area in the world. Um And the Chinese government can always fulfill its commitment. So what's your expectation on that or do you have anything that you think the government should do? What? But they haven't done yet for example. Um let me give you an example maybe um in the future, the Chinese government can open the um can allow more of the Philippine maid to come into the Chinese mainland. But that's just an example. You don't need to respond to that. Ah I think the greater Bay area has already become a world class area due to the participation of Hong Kong. But there is one thing that we need to uh there is one challenge that we need to address very urgently because we are the greater Bay area consists of three jurisdictions, three different law systems and three kinds of currencies. So how can we establish, how can we truly integrate these three areas altogether? Um For example, like for the enterprises, go uh go go public in Hong, in Hong Kong or in the Shanghai, they need to have a different regulations to follow. Uh Well, I think high level integration and connectivity have been the buzzword for there for many, many um for many years. So what we need to do is to really practice this connectivity, to have the connectivity of capital and the connectivity of talents. Well, I think in addition to the interconnection of capital and talent, another thing we should do is that we need to have the facilitate the flow of the advanced manufacturing of productive forces. Uh I think we also need to have a first class industrial ecology and the sharing of the global value Uh So that's all for the session. And thank you again for your sharing. Uh Please stay here. I have announcement and when we come back, we will talk about whether Japan is back with a senior official from that nation's central bank and one of the West's most distinguished experts on the Japanese economy. Our program will reconvene at 4 p.m. See you, then we will take a short break. Thank you. See you go.

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