The 15th MIF is open today to the public for the first day with a series of forums, seminars and presentations. The exhibitions have attracted a great many visitors, especially in the selling area. As at 8 p.m., a total of 16,995 visitors were recorded (14,217 visitors for the same period last year). The Organiser has arranged 469 business matching sessions (including 153 sessions of purchase negotiations, 23 investment projects, 111 sessions for goods/services supply, 75 sessions for franchising/brand distribution and 107 specialized matching sessions). The result is the signing of 26 agreements. The signing parties come from Macao, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Portugal, Taiwan, Indonesia, Germany and Brazil. This morning, the “SME International Business Days Opening Ceremony and Protocol Signing Ceremony” was held. The “SME International Business Days” (SME Day) has focused on such emerging business models as franchising and e-commerce. By providing a wide range of services and activities such as a consultancy service counter, catalogue show, topical discussion, and service promotions, IPIM helps the SMEs to strengthen their general competitiveness, realize upgrading and transformation. Jackson Chang, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute said the scale of the SME Exhibition this year has doubled that of last year, in order to assist the SMEs to boost their trading opportunities and business volume through product display and sale. Besides, the Organiser has also arranged a series of onsite presentation sessions and business matching activities. Some signing ceremonies have also been held at which enterprises, trade and economic institutions from Macao, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Germany and Indonesia signed 23 agreements related to many business areas. The “Seminar and Biz-talks on Beijing-Macau Economic Cooperation” was also held in the morning. During the seminar, participants from Beijing and Macao conducted discussions on the current economic development and prospect for future cooperation between the two places. Liu Zhi, deputy secretary general of the Beijing Municipal Government pointed out that Beijing would like to strengthen the diversification in trade and economic cooperation with Macao and establish an effective mechanism of cooperation between the two governments. Jackson Chang, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute said it is worth for Macao to learn from the convention and exhibition industry and cultural and creative industries of Beijing. Macao will give fuller play to her own advantages by assisting domestic and overseas enterprises in exploiting foreign markets. The seminar has also presented Beijing’s tourism industry, food industry, cultural and creative industries. In the meantime, a signing ceremony for 3 agreements was also held. Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Beijing Sub-council have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish long term cooperation relationship, which includes promotion and inviting the VIPs of each other to attend related fairs. At the Presentation of “Investment Opportunity in Zhuhai Hengqin New Area”, organised by Administration Committee of Hengqin New Area, Zhuhai Industrial Development Bureau, and Zhuhai Investment Promotion Bureau, the participants deemed that in the area of industrial development, Hengqin will develop modern industries, mainly of high end services, with an emphasis on developing business service, leisure tourism, science education research and development as well as advanced technology. It would provide investors from Macao and overseas with favourable development opportunities. On the same occasion, the launching ceremony for the Zhuhai-Macao Investment Directory was held to promote industrial cooperation, location advantage and investment prospect in both Zhuhai and Macao. During the “Macao Fashion Festival 2010”, the “Macao Brand Show” has staged the fashion shows of 3 local fashion brands with the latest fashion concept of Macao. On the other hand, the “Gala Fashion” which incorporated the designs of 3 fashion designers from Beijing, Taiwan and Hong Kong has showcased the latest series of different fashion styles and enhanced the exchange and cooperation between the apparel industry practitioners from different regions and the fashion designers of Macao. Organised by Macao Printing Association, The “Printing Leadership Forum - Green Printing - The Future of Print” was held in the morning. A number of keynote speakers explored the development in how to build a green printing industry, to promote industrial upgrade and digitalized text files under the global trend of environmental protection and how to face up with the future trend of low carbon and emission reduction. The Seminar entitled “The High Degree of Decision Horizon: Gold BRICs’ grows up, where Macau is going?” organized by Asia Institute of Strategic Management Studies and Asia Institute for Strategic Management Studies and supported by Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and several institutions, was also held on the same day. A number of keynote speakers carried out discussions on some heated economic issues such as thoughts on industrial transformation of Macao, the models of economic development of China and comparative analysis with Macao. The MIF has also arranged a series of seminars and presentations. A series of e-commerce promotions and franchising networking activities have also been organized, including “Understanding Global Buyer Behaviour Seminar”, organized by Alibaba.com Hong Kong Limited, “Starting Global Online Business at Lowest Cost” organised by eBay International Hong Kong, “Global Franchising Strategy Trend & Eastern Tea Franchising Strategy”, related to online promotion, business trends, low cost business opportunities and franchising strategies. Trade and economic conferences held also on the same day included “Shaanxi-Macao Economic and Trade Symposium”, “Chongqing Foreign Capital Investment Introduction Meeting”, “Seminar on Trade and Investment Opportunities in the MaAnShan”, and “Inner Mongolia & Macao Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Conference”, which served to promote trade and investment, and seek cooperation on topics of economic development, industries with a competitive edge and investment environment of different regions. In the afternoon, the Organiser has held the “One-trip, Multi-stop” activity for trade visitors, which included a tour to Hengqin of Zhuhai to inspect the investment environment and investment projects, with an aim of enhancing the results of participating in MIF. Preview of Activities for Tomorrow
The third day (23rd Oct) of this year’s MIF will continue to be open to the public. The Main Hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., while the SME Exhibition will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The main programme of activities will include “7th World Summit of Chinese Entrepreneurs”, “History, Cultural and Heritage Tourism in ASEAN and Macao Forum”, “Creative Chic by Macao Local Fashion Designers' Society - House Show”, “Latin American Business and Tourism Seminar: Cuba and Peru”, “The 8th Special Industry Seminar on How to Develop a Brand - "Cultural and Creative Industry"”, “Seminar on EU-Macao Business Opportunities”, “CPTTM Fashion Design and Manufacturing - 2009/2010 Diploma Programme - Grad Show”, “The 5th Anniversary of the Establishment of Macau Businesswomen Association” and “ The 4th Macau Honor Board – International Cuisine ”Awards Ceremony.
