[2023/03/01] IPIM Joins Hands with Enterprises to Visit Zhongshan and Foshan to Promote Industry + MICE Cross-border Linkage

Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) organised a Macao MICE Industry Business Delegation to the Greater Bay Area (Zhongshan and Foshan) from 27 to 28 February, with a delegation of more than 40 representatives from the MICE, industrial and commercial sectors as well as large integrated tourism and leisure enterprises from Macao to visit enterprises and research institutions in the big health industry, technology and innovation sector in Zhongshan and Foshan. They exchanged views with Member of the CPC Standing Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department of Zhongshan Liu Meixin, Deputy Mayor of Zhongshan Zhou Zuode, and Deputy Director of the Foshan Municipal Bureau of Commerce He Manchu. Two business matching sessions were also organised.

Members of the delegation recognised the effectiveness of the event and said that the arrangements had helped local enterprises to better understand the advantages of Zhongshan and Foshan industries, especially the health and medicine related enterprises they had come across.

More than 100 representatives from enterprises in the three cities held business talks on the four key industries

The “Zhongshan-Macao Business Matching Session” and “Foshan-Macao Business Matching Session” were jointly organised by IPIM respectively with Zhongshan Municipal Bureau of Commerce and Foshan Municipal Bureau of Commerce respectively, inviting representatives from industries such as big health, technology and innovation, convention and exhibition, and finance in Zhongshan and Foshan. Representatives of associations and enterprises from Zhongshan and Foshan industries were invited to attend.

The two seminars attracted about 160 industry representatives for business matching, sharing cutting-edge views on the four industries and interacting with each other to promote the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Co-operation Zone. Representatives of IPIM introduced the advantages and support services of Macao in organising exhibitions and conferences at the event.

In his speech, Acting President of IPIM Vincent U said that apart from focusing on expanding international customer base and securing more large international MICE events in Macao, IPIM will also continue to strengthen MICE co-operation with sister cities in the Greater Bay Area. IPIM hopes to continue to work with the business and exhibition sectors and the MICE industry in Macao, Zhongshan and Foshan to promote the complementary advantages of the MICE industry in the Greater Bay Area and to foster a new “industry + MICE” development model.

Deputy Mayor of Zhongshan Zhou Zuode pointed out that Macao enterprises are an important part of the foreign enterprises in Zhongshan. He added, the total import and export of Zhongshan and Macao amounted to RMB 1.238 billion in 2022, with 157 new Macao enterprises established in Zhongshan and a total of US$39.67 million of actual foreign investment from Macao. With the imminent opening of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge and the commencement of the construction of Nansha-Zhongshan Intercity Project, Zhongshan’s location advantage in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be further highlighted.

Deputy Director of the Foshan Municipal Bureau of Commerce He Manchu said there are currently 453 Macao enterprises in Foshan, with registered capital of US$7.6 billion. He also said that the two cities have great prospects for co-operation and hoped that the two places would seek to co-operate more extensively and at a deeper level in areas such as traditional Chinese medicine, convention and exhibition, technology, tourism and cuisine. It is hoped that through the forum, the two sides can enhance their understanding in the economic field and help enterprises in the two places explore business opportunities to build a solid foundation for future co-operation.

Participating enterprises from Zhongshan and Foshan said that the event was very fruitful and they were able to learn about the latest developments and policy advantages of Macao. Through the event, they were able to learn more about the development position and needs of Macao enterprises and successfully establish a bridge of communication and create opportunities for co-operation.

Field inspection to understand the development trend of the industry

The delegation visited the Robotics (Zhongshan) Institute of Unmanned Equipment and Artificial Intelligence of Harbin Institute of Technology, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongshan Health Base Group Co., Ltd. and GDXL Precise Machinery Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Yifang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Seminars and networking sessions were arranged to help enterprises understand the development trend of the industry.

Enhancing economic and trade exchanges between the Greater Bay Area cities and leveraging the "Industry + MICE" linkage

To make good use of Macao’s MICE platform and to maximise the benefits of the “Industry + MICE” linkage, IPIM has been actively strengthening the economic and trade exchanges between Macao and cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of. Since last year, IPIM has organised representatives from Macao’s MICE, industrial and commercial sectors as well as large integrated tourism and leisure enterprises to have business exchange visits to Foshan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan and Zhuhai, connecting the delegations with the development opportunities of the four major industries and promote Macao’s appropriately diversified economic development.