HONG KONG, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Companies operating in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in key industries are sanguine about business prospects in 2026, with the keenest expectations noted in the sci-tech innovation sector, according to the Greater Bay Area Industry Development Index 2025 released on Tuesday.

The Index, jointly presented by Our Hong Kong Foundation and Dah Sing Bank, tracks the performance of 11 cities across six key industries -- financial services, innovation and technology, trade and logistics, manufacturing, construction and real estate, as well as culture, sports and tourism.

Computed based on surveys of over 3,400 GBA companies, the sub-index on confidence scored 55.5 for 2025, and 57.3 for 2026, which signaled warming market sentiment through the coming year.

So far this year, the overall annualized growth rate of the six key industries in the GBA has picked up from 4.9 percent in the previous year to 7.1 percent, led by the innovation and technology industry with a hefty 14.8 percent expansion. Manufacturing grew 8.1 percent year on year as it gravitate towards intelligent automation. ■