A visitor experiences virtual reality equipment at the 4th China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Nov 6, 2021. (LU PENG / XINHUA)

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area accounts for 22 percent of the country’s most promising metaverse companies, according to the latest rankings by the Hurun Research Institute.

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Hurun China Metaverse Companies with the Greatest Potential 2022, which was published in Guangzhou on Wednesday, ranks the top 200 Chinese companies with the greatest development potential in the metaverse field. The list represents the first time that the research institute has published such rankings.

Twenty-three Shenzhen companies made the list, making the city the third nationwide after Beijing and Shanghai, which have 55 and 33 respectively.

According to a forecast by Citibank, the number of metaverse users is expected to reach 5 billion globally by 2030, and the potential market size of the metaverse economy could amount to $8 trillion to $13 trillion, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said

Guangzhou has 13 companies on the list, and Hong Kong has five. Dongguan and Foshan have two each.

“While it’s still early days for the metaverse, make no mistake, the metaverse is a megatrend that is likely to have a profound impact on wealth creation,” Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said.

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According to a forecast by Citibank, the number of metaverse users is expected to reach 5 billion globally by 2030, and the potential market size of the metaverse economy could amount to $8 trillion to $13 trillion, he said.

Ever since Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms in October, the metaverse has been gaining a growing amount of attention both in China and globally. A number of Chinese companies are jumping on the bandwagon and pouring a lot of resources into the business in an effort to grab a slice of the pie in the emerging sector.

According to the Hurun rankings, different cities and regions in the country are showing their respective advantages in the metaverse. While Beijing has a number of platform technology companies such as Baidu, Egova, and Glodon, Shanghai has advantages in the essential technology. Guangdong companies, meanwhile, excel in smart hardware, with leading players including Huawei, Oppo and Ubtech.

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