HKUST IEMS x EY x The Golden Age Foundation Seminar to Explore Innovation on Elderly Care in Greater Bay Area
As integration within the Greater Bay Area (GBA) accelerates, northbound elderly care for Hong Kong and Macau residents has emerged as a new trend. On May 12, 2025, collaborated with EY and the Golden Age Foundation, the Institute for Emerging Market Studies (IEMS) co-organized a seminar titled “Elderly care in the Greater Bay Area - Integration and innovation for the future”. The event attracted participants from healthcare and insurance companies, industry organizations, academia, and think tanks, fostering in-depth discussions on new business opportunities in the GBA’s cross-border wellness and care industry.
Ms Jasmine Lee, Managing Partner of EY Hong Kong and Macau, delivered the welcome address. She noted that in recent years, GBA regions have actively introduced policies to support the silver economy and develop smart elderly care industries. Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau have strengthened interconnectivity in cross-border elderly care, opening new avenues for economic development. Beyond healthcare services, innovations in supporting industries such as finance and innovative technology have provided fresh perspectives for the elderly care sector. Moving forward, leveraging complementary resources and exploring new opportunities in cross-border elderly care services will be key to embracing the silver economy.
Professor Alex He, Acting Director of the Institute for Public Policy, and Faculty Associate of HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies, shared observations on integrating elderly care services in the GBA from a policy science perspective, highlighting intergenerational differences in the needs of cross-border elderly populations. He noted that approximately 100,000 Hong Kong seniors currently reside in Guangdong Province, which is facilitated by interconnected elderly care and medical policies between the two regions. In the long run, integrating policy, societal, and market resources will enhance the synergy of the elderly care system. Professor He suggested using big data & AI for smarter policy in high-income cities.
High-income cities should apply big data and AI for demand forecasting, service design, and urban planning. He also noted that policymakers must not assume Guangdong has unlimited labor. To meet rising household service needs, should consider allowing foreign domestic helpers—guided by data on labor gaps and social capacity.
Ms Jasmine Lee, Managing Partner of EY Hong Kong and Macau, moderated a subsequent panel discussion featuring Kenneth Chan, Chairman of Woopie Social Enterprises, Chairs of Innovative Ageing Care Task Force of Golden Age Foundation; Professor Alex He, Acting Director of Institute for Public Policy, Faculty Associate of HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies; Alfred Cheung, Deputy CEO of BOC Group Life Assurance Company Limited; and Dr. Felix Lee, Co-CEO of The GBA Healthcare Group.
The discussion highlighted that while Hong Kong has a robust medical insurance system, it faces high costs and supply-demand imbalances. Within the GBA, Hong Kong and mainland cities demonstrate complementary strengths in elderly care policies and resources, a key factor attracting Hong Kong seniors to relocate northward. Moving forward, enhanced collaboration between public and private sectors, establishing caregiving talent training and mutual recognition systems, and adopting technologies like embodied intelligence will drive innovation in elderly care, integrating GBA’s medical and elderly care resources to provide higher-quality services for seniors. However, Professor He also emphasized that challenges will remain even with the development of robotics and AI, including shortages of caregiving personnel, varying qualifications, cross-border medical data flows, and long-term healthcare management.
Get updates from HKUST IEMS
