The integration of Hong Kong and Shenzhen's "unique pairing" promises great opportunities in public health, high-end manufacturing, science research and innovation, Hong Kong-based Malaysian business leader Chandran Nair said.

Nair's remarks came after President Xi Jinping's speech last Wednesday marking the 40th anniversary of Shenzhen as the country's first special economic zone, which encourages Shenzhen to forge closer ties and promote cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao in investment, entrepreneurship and opening-up.

"I think for the president to come and say this, it has huge weight," said Nair, who is also founder of The Global Institute for Tomorrow, an independent think tank based in Hong Kong. "This essentially gives Hong Kong a great sense of being part of this new story," he told China Daily in a one-to-one interview.

While Hong Kong has achieved a lot in the past three to four decades, with the city's competitive advantages in world-class banking system, common law jurisdiction and skilled professionals, Nair said he's stunned by Shenzhen's "unimaginable" rapid growth.

He first went to Shenzhen 30 years ago and has since observed its transformation from a small rural town into a high-tech manufacturing hub bristling with technology-driven startups. Nair says the public health sector will be among the first to benefit from Shenzhen pairing up with Asia's financial hub.

Hong Kong has many distinguished universities and institutions focusing on conducting public health research for many years, he said. But the city's strength in public health research remains untapped as the science findings seldom get off the ground and gain traction commercially. "The pillars of Hong Kong's economy are too narrow and it has hollowed out many things."

But if the neighboring cities team up, with the Hong Kong brand at the forefront and Shenzhen's incredible capacity for science innovation, Nair said it's highly likely they could invent a medical product like a vaccine that would be recognized as world-class, adding that the area can become a public healthcare center for the world.

Furthermore, as Hong Kong has a well-established intellectual property protection system, the city also has great potential to develop into a high-end manufacturing hub if it joins forces with Shenzhen, said Nair.

Hong Kong teaming up with Shenzhen can only be "good news" for entrepreneurs in the city, Nair continued. He said many local start-ups never get past the research and development stage because they only see Hong Kong as their market. Due to the lack of resources, such as land and investment, they also fail to scale up, he added.

"So what typically happens in Hong Kong now is these startups either fail or remain small, or they go off to another country and sell their companies," Nair said. But a world of opportunities awaits them in Shenzhen and the Bay Area, he said.

Nair said Hong Kong still retains its core strengths in being a great arbitration center, a "safe haven" for international money, and a world-renowned common law jurisdiction. By contrast, Shenzhen is a high-tech hub which is also becoming strong in bioscience. "Team Hong Kong and Shenzhen together, and you've essentially got an incredibly powerful nexus for the whole Bay Area," Nair said.

He called on Hong Kong young people to be "emboldened and encouraged" to take advantage of this great opportunity of the Bay Area and see themselves as part of a much larger economic pie, as well as contributing to that.

"Test yourself. There is no need to feel marginalized, you should feel inclusive," Nair said, adding that if Hong Kong and the Bay Area is now their playing field, their opportunities essentially expand ten-fold.