Every year the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) organises several large MICE events to help Macao companies expand their businesses and look for business opportunities.

The Guangdong and Macao Branded Products Fair (GMBPF) and the Macao Franchise Expo (MFE) are two of the most prominent events in Macao’s calendar of meetings and exhibitions. In July 2016 the two events were – for the first time – held concurrently in the same place, to create synergies between them and increase attendance at both.

The GMBPF, an event staged by IPIM and the Department of Commerce of Guangdong province, has kept improving and innovating since it was first held, in 2009, building a reputation for being a professionally run fair. The number of exhibitor’s booths increased to 357 in 2016 from 259 in 2009. The eight editions of the fair have together attracted more than 950,000 visitors and introduced them to an evergreater variety of quality products from Macao and Guangdong.

Within the carnival-style GMBPF there are trade, retailing, culture, leisure and entertainment for entrepreneurs to find business collaborations and people to enjoy. The programme for the 2016 fair was richer and more diverse than its predecessors. A new feature was a shopping street that evoked decades past. Another novelty was an area where products typical of Indonesia were displayed – a manifestation of the contribution of Guangdong and Macao to the “One Belt, One Road” initiative to boost Chinese economic and trade engagement with other countries.

Enterprises took part in 67 business-matching sessions over the three days of the fair this year. Among those taking part were enterprises based in Jieyang, Huizhou and Maoming in Guangdong; Hong Kong; Macao; and Indonesia. The products discussed in the business-matching sessions included well known of food and beverages, daily necessities, clothes and accessories, toys and handicrafts.

Holding GMBPF and MFE at the same time in the same place was meant to increase the attendance of entrepreneurs and companies at both, and to put those attending in touch with a wider range of consumers – all with the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of the promotional campaigns of the fairs, and boosting the visibility of the products and services provided by exhibitors. The enterprises represented at the latest MFE hailed the expo as a great success. The three-day event attracted about 17,000 visitors, including nearly 2,600 trade visitors. According to figures provided by the event organisers, 1,314 business-matching and negotiation sessions were conducted for specially invited trade visitors. The business-matching sessions were mainly about franchising, retailing chains and brand agencies, and 18 contracts were signed during the expo.

Internet shifts aims

One element of MFE was the Forum on Chain and Franchise Business Opportunities of International Brands. In view of the growing importance of the Internet in business, and the need for Macao’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to be more competitive, the title of the theme of the forum was “New Vision of Chain and Franchise in the Internet Era” in MFE. The forum allowed representatives of institutions from various places to relate their experiences in franchising and the development of their Internet business, giving their audience a better understanding on the latest trends in the market.

The forum invited representatives of franchise associations and enterprises from Brazil, Mainland China, Japan, Macao, Portugal and Taiwan.

In his opening speech, IPIM President Jackson Chang said the business models for brand agencies and franchising had found favour with investors, especially young entrepreneurs, in recent years. He expressed the hope that accounts of successful franchising as the Internet rapidly extended its reach would inspire Macao SMEs to make themselves more competitive.

Asiawide Franchise Consultants Pte. Ltd. Chief Executive Albert Kong, a member of the committee of the Franchising and Licensing Association of Singapore, told the forum that the world’s 7 billion people included nearly 3.4 billion users of the Internet and 2.3 billion active users of social media, so companies had enormous opportunities to develop their businesses online.

Member of the Franchise Committee of China Chain Store and Franchise Association Amelia Wang said franchising and Internet companies in Mainland China had developed and expanded rapidly. Ms Wang said she believed franchising and Internet companies thought similarly, endeavouring to improve the ways they did business for the benefit of consumers and users, while employing new ways of selling their products or services to create a branding impact.

Chairman of Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion, Taiwan Richard Li said enterprises in Macao, Hong Kong and Taiwan had to expand beyond their small, local markets. To enlarge their scope, their businesses and the Internet should be integrated at every level, from corporate management to consumer service, making use of initiatives of the “Internet+” strategy, Mr Li said.

The 2016MFE had an exhibition area of more than 1,900 square metres with nearly 220 booths, attracting over 180 exhibitors from Brazil, Mainland China, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Mozambique, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The exhibitors from East Timor and Mozambique took part in the fair for the first time.