The 23rd Macao International Trade and Investment Fair kicks off
The 23rd Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (23rd MIF) and the 2018 Portuguese-speaking Countries Products and Services Exhibition (Macao) (2018 PLPEX) kicked off today (18 Oct) at the Venetian Macao. Mr Chui Sai On, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR, and other guests were invited to the Opening Ceremony. This year’s exhibition has attracted businesspeople in various fields from all over the world, especially from the countries along the “Belt and Road”, the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Portuguese-speaking countries and European countries, to jointly explore business opportunities in Macao.
At the Opening Ceremony, the Secretary for Economy and Finance Leong Vai Tac said that this year's MIF would carry on the theme of “Co-operation – Key to Business Opportunities” and had invited Mozambique and Fujian as its "Partner Country" and "Partner Province" respectively. A diverse array of high-level themed forums would be held during the exhibition, including the “8th Asian Trade Promotion Forum (ATPF) Joint Exhibition”. In addition, the 2018 PLPEX continues to be held concurrently with this year’s MIF. With a larger scale, the 2018 PLPEX has attracted more than 250 exhibitors from Mainland China, Macao, Hong Kong, and the eight Portuguese-speaking countries and regions. There will also be a number of supporting activities staged to further capitalise on the role of Macao a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and “Three Centres”, especially the “food product distribution centre for Portuguese-speaking Countries”.
According to the Chief Executive, Macao will continue to leverage its function of precise liaison as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in the future. The city will also endeavour to fulfil its historic missions endowed by the new era and seize development opportunities to serve the needs of our country and deliver the strengths of Macao. It will continue to implement the strategy of giving “priority to conferences”, introduce high-quality conferences and exhibitions into Macao, and create platforms for effective matching between enterprises and trade promotion institutions to seek co-operation, jointly expedite development and share opportunities. While serving to expand the opening-up of our country, Macao will also nurture the city’s moderate economic diversification to achieve sustainable development.
Co-organised by the Agency for Investment and Exports Promotion of Mozambique, the Department of Commerce of Fujian Province, and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, the Mozambique-Fujian-Macao Trade and Investment Forum was held on the first day of the MIF. It fully demonstrated the economic and trade policies, location and positioning advantages as well as the investment environments of the three regions, allowing the participants to jointly seek mutually complementary co-operation. Besides, a series of activities were also organised today, including the signing ceremony, the “8th Jiangsu-Macao·Portuguese-Speaking Countries Business Forum”, the “Young Entrepreneurs Forum”, and the “Opening Ceremony of the ‘2018 Macao Fashion Show’ - Belt and Road Fashion Show”, drawing warm responses from audiences on site.
A number of industry-related and themed commodities exhibitions are introduced in this year’s MIF including the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Business Zone, the Exhibition Zone of Congjiang County, Guizhou Province, the Smart Zone, the Youth Entrepreneur Zone and the Featured Finance Zone. These newly set-up exhibition zones attracted crowds of participants to take a closer look and network with exhibitors. In addition, the “8th Asian Trade Promotion Forum (ATPF) Joint Exhibition” was concurrently held at the MIF. Representatives of ATPF trade promotion agencies gathered in Macao to seek common development and share business opportunities.
The “Brazil Unmanned Shop Experience Zone (Brazil Centre)” made its debut at the 2018 PLPEX, along with the “Portuguese-speaking Countries Wine and Food Business Matching Meeting” held on the first day. The innovative elements had attracted many companies to participate and jointly explore business opportunities. At the same time, a number of cultural performances from Portuguese-speaking countries and Portuguese-speaking Countries Fashion Shows were staged, showing the charming and diverse culture of Portuguese-speaking countries.
The guests of the Opening Ceremony included: the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR Mr. Zheng Xiaosong, the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao SAR Ms. Shen Beili, the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Mozambique Mr. Ragendra de Sousa, the Executive Vice-Governor of the People's Government of Fujian Province Mr. Zhang Zhinan, the National Security Advisor cum Union Minister for the Ministry of the Office of the Union Government of Myanmar Mr. Thaung Tun, the Vice-Governor of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government Mr. Wang Jiang, the Secretaryfor Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Mr. Tam Chon Weng, the Vice Director of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China Mr. Li ChangPing, the Vice-Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Mr. Zhang Shenfeng, the Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of the China-Portuguese speaking Countries Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum (Macao) Mrs. Xu Yingzhen, the President of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute Mr. Jackson Chang, Ambassador of Mozambique to China Mrs. Maria Custava, Ambassador of Angola to China Mr. João Salvados dos Santos Neto, Ambassador of Cape Verde to China Mrs. Tânia Romualdo, Ambassador of Guinea-Bissau to China Mr. Malam Sambu, Ambassador of São Tomé and Principe to China Mrs. Isabel Maya Jesus da Graça Domingos, Ambassador of Timor-Leste to China Mr. Bendito Freitas, Representative of the Consulate-General of Portugal in Macao Mrs. Maria João Bonifácio and the First Secretary cum Chief of Cultural Section of Brazil Embassy in Beijing Mr. Marcelo Azevedo Araújo.
