Standard Chartered Bank and Hong Kong Trade Development Council held a press conference in Hong Kong on the 17th to announce the "Standard Chartered Greater Bay Area Business Climate Index" (GBAI) for the first quarter of 2023. Experts say that the relevant indicators exceeded expectations, reflecting the confidence of enterprises in the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, as the mainland and Hong Kong have fully cleared customs. According to the survey report, GBAI's "Business Activity Status Index" increased by 11.8 points to 51.3 on a quarterly basis, marking the first time since the fourth quarter of 2021 that it has exceeded 50. The 'Business Activity Expectation Index' jumped to 61.5, with a 16.4 point increase being the highest since GBAI's launch in the second quarter of 2020. Fan Wan'er, research director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said that two indexes of GBAI in Hong Kong hit new highs since its launch in the second quarter of 2020, revealing that Hong Kong businessmen tend to be optimistic about business prospects. A series of bright macro data recently can explain why the sentiment of respondents has improved, and also strongly prove that the Chinese economy has emerged from the haze of the epidemic. Liu Jianheng, Senior Economist for Standard Chartered Greater China, stated that the business confidence of enterprises in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area has significantly improved in the first quarter of this year, with relevant indices rebounding significantly. It is expected that with the support of various policies in the mainland and the promotion of comprehensive "customs clearance", the economic recovery momentum in the mainland is expected to continue. It is understood that GBAI is the first forward-looking quarterly survey conducted by the market on the business climate in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, in order to analyze the business atmosphere within the area and the synergistic effects between cities and industries. Standard Chartered collaborates with the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council to visit over 1000 companies in the Greater Bay Area every quarter, compiling indices based on the collected data to help investors and companies understand the latest business environment in the Greater Bay Area, assess future performance, and develop market strategies. (New News Agency)