Statista, a German online statistics portal, compiled a list of the fastest-growing companies in the GBA, ranked by revenue growth between the years 2015 and 2018 for companies with at least 1 million yuan (US$142,000) in 2015, and HK$10 million yuan for 2018.

The Chinese government unveiled a detailed blue print in February for creating a powerful economic and business hub to rival California’s Silicon Valley.

The unveiling of the blue print has already created a flurry of investments into the GBA, with Hong Kong’s banks stepping up their hiring processes to expand in the larger market. Real estate prices have risen in Zhuhai, Foshan and Zhongshan as investors – especially wily Hong Kong speculators – tried to get ahead of the market by securing footholds in the mainland Chinese cities in the area.

Shenzhen, the test bed of China’s market economic reforms starting in the late 1970s, boasts several hometown champions among the world’s technology giants: Huawei Technology, the largest maker of 5G telecommunications infrastructure, DJI the biggest maker of recreational drones, and Tencent Holdings the dominant Chinese games publisher and social media network operator.

Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, is home to 14 growth champions, while Dongguan – where many Hong Kong and Taiwanese electronic manufacturers have established factories over the past three decades has five companies whose earnings have grown between 100 per cent and up to 800 per cent over three years.

Macau, which surpassed the Las Vegas Strip as the worlds casino hub a decade ago, has a single company among the growth champions in the form of slot machine and gambling console assembler Asia Pioneer Entertainment (APE). Its revenue more than doubled between 2015 and 2018. Jiangmen, a city located in the south-western edge of Guangdong and the furthest from the GBA’s centre, is the sole city that isn’t represented among the 80 fastest-growing companies.

The sectors the growth champions are engaged in also reflect the industrial structure of the southern Chinese region, with a strong leaning toward technology, the manufacturing of components and internet-related applications.

Machinery and manufacturing is the second-biggest subsector for growth champions, reflecting the outsize role played by the GBA as the worlds factory floor. Nine companies in this sector rank among the fastest growing champions, including automation specialist Liande in Shenzhen.

“If you make it into the league of Growth Champions of the Greater Bay Area, you have what is most important for a company: substance, sustainability and credibility,” said Friedrich Schwandt, founder and chief executive officer of Statista in May when the joint survey was launched. “This will have positive effects in many ways, from attracting talent to business partners or investors. And given that we are looking at one of the most vibrant regions in the world, it’s important to stand out.”

With its head office in Hamburg, Statista has a staff of more than 600 between Germany and offices in London, New York, Paris, and Singapore. Its global surveys included three years of ranking of Europe’s growth champions conducted with Financial Times, and a 2019 ranking of Singapore’s companies with Straits Times.