Businesses in Hong Kong — suffering because of the Sino-US trade tensions and three months of protests — should seek more opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Hong Kong Productivity Council said.

Mohamed Butt, the council's executive director, said on Wednesday that the trade conflict and recent social unrest are hurting the city's 340,000 small and medium-sized businesses.

As of March, SMEs in Hong Kong account for more than 98 percent of the city's total business units, and provide job opportunities for 45 percent of the workforce.

Hong Kong SMEs mostly focus on export business for foreign buyers — like those in the United States.