Macau—China‘s unique platform for Portuguese-speaking markets

Macau has the advantage of being China’s uniquely positioned business-service platform for commercial and economic ties with the Portuguese-speaking world, which comprises eight countries on four continents with a total population of about 220 million, Lao Ngai Leong, a standing committee member of the Macau Chamber of Commerce (ACM) told The Macau Post Daily recently.

Mr. Lao is chairman of the Cang Shi Commercial Enterprise (Group) Co. Ltd.

The ACM, which is Macau’s most influential business organization, is one of the co-organizers of the 11^th Macau International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF), which will be held at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre on September 23-26.

According to Mr. Lao, the MIF plays an important role in enhancing Macau’s international image as a business-service hub in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region, which comprises nine mainland provinces and autonomous regions and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

Speaking at his office at the Macau Chong Fok Commercial Centre, Mr. Lao stressed one of Macau’s main advantages was its relatively low operational costs as a MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) center, namely compared with Hong Kong. He also pointed out that Macau’s role as a “bridge” between the mainland and the Portuguese-speaking world was something that no other city in the world could play, pointing out that some local businesspeople were fluent in Portuguese-speaking markets. This, Mr. Lao, said was beneficial to mainland Chinese enterprises interested in using Macau has a business-service platform to open up economic and commercial links with their counterparts in the Portuguese-speaking countries, namely Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Portugal, East Timor, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau.

Mr. Lao also pointed out that Macao’s status as a free port meant that it was able to offer non-local traders and investors easy access to its services, adding that Macau could also play an important role as a “launching pad” for mainland Chinese enterprises keen to invest in, and trade with Portuguese-speaking countries. Mr. Lao was quick to add that the central government in Beijing was encouraging mainland enterprises to “go overseas.”

According to Mr. Lao, Macau is also a good role model for Taiwan as a region where the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle has been successfully implemented.

Shantou and Chaozhou to join MIF

Mr. Lao also pointed that Shantou – one of the mainland’s five special economic zones – and Chaozhou – a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong traditionally known in the West as ‘Chiu Chow’ – had both decided to send important business delegations to next month’s 11^th MIF. Shantou alone has booked 31 stands, representing 20 companies, at the fair, according to Mr. Lao.

Mr. Lao stressed that Shantou’s delegation would be lead by the city’s vice-mayor, which was an indication of the municipal government’s strong determination to develop strong economic and trade ties with Macu in its capacity as a hub for ties with the Portuguese-speaking world. Shantou is globally known for its toy industries.

Last year’s MIF comprised 345 stands.

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