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Chief Executive’s visit to Jiangxi brings two sides closer together to jointly ex plore business opportunitiesWith the implementation of CEPA and the launch of Pan-Pearl River Delta “9+2” co-operation, enhancing regional collaboration has become the main vehicle for Macao to expand economically. In recent years, Macao has been following a regional co-operation policy of “establishing ties with faraway places and integrat ing with neighbouring areas” and “ex tending and engaging,” in its effort to strengthen its ties with the Mainland, especially with partners of “9+2” prov inces and regions. Personally commit ted to this, Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah has led government and business delegations to visit “9+2” provinces many times to set up co-oper ation mechanisms between Macao and the relevant provincial governments as well as improving communication and co-operation. Chief Executive Edmund Ho, as the head of a combined Macao government and business delegation, visited Jiangxi province on 16 January 2006 where he met with senior lead ers, such as Party Secretary Meng Ji anzhu and Governor Huang Zhiquan, and held fruitful discussions. The two governments signed Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) on economic and trade and tourism co-operation. Entrepreneurs from the two sides held extensive discussions and reached many agreements to jointly explore potential opportunities.Members of the Macao govern ment delegation included Francis Tam Pak Yuen, Secretary for Economy and Finance; members of the Executive Council, Tong Chi Kin, Leong Heng Teng, Ma Iao Lai, Ho Iat Seng, Che ang Chi Keong, Lam Heong Sang, and Leong Vai Tac, as well as Ho Veng On, director of Chief Executive’s office, Lee Peng Hong, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Chan Chi Ping, Director of Govern ment Information Bureau and João M. Costa Antunes, Director of Macao Government Tourist Office. The busi ness delegation was composed of more than sixty well-known Macao entrepre neurs. The delegations arrived in Nan chang, capital of Jiangxi province, on 16 January. Meng Jianzhu, Secretary of Jiangxi Provincial CPC Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of Jiangxi Provincial People’s Congress and Huang Zhiquan, Deputy Secretary of Jiangxi Provincial CPC Commit tee and Governor of Jiangxi province, along with other senior officials, wel comed Chief Executive Ho and the del egation. The two sides then conducted candid and in-depth discussions about enhancing co-operation in economic, trade, tourism and other areas. Chief Executive Ho stated dur ing the discussion that the people of Jiangxi province had overcome many challenges and achieved significant progress since the reform and opening-up of the Mainland. As a result, a new Jiangxi endowed with talented people and fertile land was rising in the centre of China. He said that Macao could learn a great deal from the Jiangxi’s suc cess story.Mr. Ho also mentioned that Ma cao’s economy has maintained a posi tive growth rate in the six years since the handover. Local GDP was MOP47 billion in 1999 and grew to more than MOP80 billion in 2004. Thanks to CEPA and the “facilitated individual travel” (FIT) policy, various local in dustries, in particular the tourism and gaming industries were showing stable growth. Mr. Ho said that since the launch of “9+2” mechanism (Pan-Pearl River Del ta Regional Co-operation and Develop ment plan), economic and trade ties be tween Jiangxi province and Macao have become closer and stronger. By the end of 2005, 88 Macao enterprises had in vested in Jiangxi with a total amount of close to US$200 million. He says Macao and Jiangxi, although separat ed by distance, are brother and sister under the principle of “One Country, Two Systems” and have grown into close partners for mutual development since the commencement of the “9+2” plan. He believes that as a platform between China and Portuguese-speak ing countries, Macao will proactive ly assist Jiangxi and other provinces with the expansion of economic and business relations. He is convinced that his visit would enhance mutual understanding between Jiangxi and Macao entrepreneurs and thus lay a solid foundation for closer co-opera tion.Mr. Meng indicated during the discussion that Jiangxi and Macao are economically complimentary. Macao’s tourism is advanced yet, Ji angxi is rich in natural resources. By combining the two advantages both sides may gain. Both Jiangxi and Ma cao governments attach great impor tance to this visit. Witnessed by of ficials including Mr. Ho, Mr. Meng, Mr. Huang and Mr. Tam, the Depart ment of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation of Jiangxi Province has signed a MOU with Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute on economic and trade co-operation, the Tourism Bureau of Jiangxi Province has also signed a MOU with Macao Government Tourist Office on tour ism co-operation. Mr. Meng indi cated that the two MOUs constitute a new milestone in the co-operation between the two sides.The MOU on Strengthening Eco nomic and Trade Communication and Co-operation and the MOU on Estab lishing Closer Co-operative Relations in Tourism signed by Jiangxi and Ma cao governments call on the two sides to adopt the following measures to expand ties and co-operation. I. Both sides should expand co-operative channels. Senior officials of Jiangxi and Macao should exchange opinions on co-operation issues of principle and of strategic importance regularly. Both sides shall set up special work ing groups or mandate relevant de partments and agencies to implement consensuses reached through such discussions. II Both sides should ex pand investment and trade and jointly explore the EU and Portuguese-speak ing markets, expand exports to Por tuguese-speaking countries by lever aging Macao’s advantages, organise joint delegations to hold promotional activities and exhibitions in the EU in co-operation with Macao’s liaison offices there and enhance co-opera tion in project contracting and labour export by utilising the market advan tages of both sides. III. Giving full play to Macao’s advantages of having a developed service industry and in terms of capital, technology, manage ment, human resources and informa tion, both sides should strengthen co-operation in the service industry as a whole and in tourism, logistics, exhi bition and convention, financial and management consultancy industries in particular. IV. Both sides should further promote communication and co-operation in science and technol ogy, education and culture. Both sides shall, by introducing scientific research and development and related projects, support universities and col leges, research institutes and indus trial and commercial enterprises in recruiting talented people in various means in order to promote the growth of talent. Both sides should also en hance cultural and artistic communi cation and arrange reciprocal visits of cultural and theatre troupes. Commenting on the prospects for economic and trade co-operation be tween Jiangxi and Macao, Secretary Tam indicated that the visit provided Macao entrepreneurs with an oppor tunity to learn more about Jiangxi’s advantages, especially in terms of hu man resources. In the past Macao’s products were mainly manufactured in Guangdong and other Mainland areas close to Macao. Some facto ries have been relocated to northern parts of Mainland because the cost of manufacturing in Guangdong has risen due to labour shortages. In his view, Jiangxi is an appropriate desti nation for such relocation because its transportation network is improving. For example, it is only an eight hour drive from Ji’an to Macao. In addi tion to it’s geographical advantage, Ji angxi also has an advantage in human resource. Some Macao entrepreneurs have already successfully started busi nesses in Jiangxi.

Complementarity promotes tourism co-operation be tween Macao and HainanOn 20 April 2006, Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah of Macao SAR led a delegation to Hainan Prov ince to attend the opening ceremony of the Bo’ao Forum for Asia, 5th Annual Conference, with the theme of “The New Opportunities In Asia: Driving Growth to the Next Level”.Delegations from Asian countries and regions attending Bo’ao Forum for Asia discussed topics on regional is sues, such as new developments finance, IT, industrial and market integrations and how enterprises find co-operation partners. For the fourth year in a row, Chief Executive Edmund Ho headed a government delegation consisting of Francis Tam Pak Yuen, Secretary for Economy and Finance, Ho Veng On, Chief-of-Office of the Office of the Chief Executive, Vitor Ng, President of the Administrative Committee of Ma cao Foundation, Chan Chi Ping, Direc tor of the Government Information Bu reau, Rita Botelho dos Santos, Director of the Supporting Office to the Secre tariat of China and Portuguese-speak ing Countries Economic Co-operation Forum (Macao), Jackson Chang, Execu tive Director of IPIM. After attending the opening ceremony on the morning of 22 April the delegation spent two days visiting Hainan province looking for opportunities for co-operation.The delegation visited Haikou, the provincial capital and the city of Sanya, two important tourism, political and economic cities in the province. Ac cording to statistics released by Hainan Statistics Bureau in the first economic census in January 2006, its GDP stands at RMB27.152 billion, ranking Haikou first of all cities and Sanya with its GDP of RMB5.786 billion came third. By the end of 2004, 29,400 entities are engaged in tertiary industries among 32,900 entities in the province. Great potential for tourism co-operationUnlike Macao, which attracts tour ists with gaming and cultural attractions, Sanya and Haikou located at the oppo site ends of the southernmost province of China are known as “Eden on Earth” and offer different attractions to tour ists and business travellers. When Gov ernor Wei Liucheng of Hainan province and Chief Executive Edmund Ho held a courtesy meeting on 21 April be fore the opening of Bo’ao Forum, two sides stressed the strong complimentary points and promising prospects for co-operation in the tourism sector.Chief Executive Edmund Ho and his delegation met Wang Xiaofeng, Party Secretary of Hainan provincial Party Committee and Governor Wei Liucheng. Mr. Wang is of the view that Hainan and Macao have their own ad vantages which compliment each other well. He says that although Hainan can not have gaming tourism like Macao, it can draw on Macao’s experience and ex pertise in the service industry, such as the tourism and real estate sectors . He predicts that after the implementation of the “Facilitated Individual Travel” Scheme (FIT) on 1 May 2006 a huge boost to the tourism sector will be seen on both sides.Chief Executive Edmund Ho is convinced that more Macao tourists will choose to spend their holiday’s in Sanya in the future. Summarising his visit to Hainan as a trip enabling him to learn first hand how Macao and Hainan province and Sanya City in particular, in terms of tourism resources, can com pliment each other, he is convinced that between Hainan and Macao, two mem bers of the “9+2”, mechanism has great potential on tourism co-operation.He also mentioned that when meet ing with leaders of Sanya City, he learned that Sanya municipal government plans to send a delegation to MIF held in September this year to outline Sanya’s development potential, in particular the potential of tourism co-operation to the business community in Macao. Chief Executive pledged the full support of the SAR government in the co-opera tion between the two cities. Discussing Business opportuni ties during a round of golfThe SAR delegation left for Haikou on 23 April mainly to attend the first Hainan and Macao Golf Friendship Contest held by Macao and Hainan Golf Associations and the signing cer emony of the co-operation agreement between the two.Chief Executive Ho and Governor Wei Liucheng teed off to open the game and during the first round they created a set of 17 pairs of business entities from both sides. President Lo King Chiu of the Golf Association of Macao says that the co-operation agreement heralds the official beginning of co-op eration between the two golf associa tions. President Chen Yuyi of Hainan Golf Association says that there are 16 golf courses on Hainan Island visited by over 400,000 tourists every year. The agreement will strengthen co-op eration and the communication be tween golf players and golf industries on both sides. They have decided to meet again in Macao next year. Macao and Hainan province opened flight service between Macao and Haik ou and Sanya in 1996. A number of airlines operate regularly from Macao to Sanya now because there is a de mand. Flights from Macao to Haikou operated by Air Macao carried 39,589 passengers in 2005, which represents a 50-70% occupancy rate. There are now five regular flights between Macao and Haiku every week. The visit of Chief Executive Ho and his delegation to Hainan province will bring the two sides closer together.

11th MIF – Promoting Cross-regional Economic Co-operation Embracing New Development Oppor-tunitiesThe 11th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) hosted by IPIM and co-hosted by Macao Cham ber of Commerce, Industrial Association of Macau, Macau Importers and Export ers Association, Association of Knitting and Spinning Industry of Macau, Macau Shipper’s Association, the Macau Asso ciation of Banks, Macao Association of Building Contractors and Developers, the Macau Small and Medium Enterprises As sociation, the Macau Chinese Enterprises Association, Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Commission and the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong and organised by Macao Con vention and Exhibition Association will be held in Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre from 23 – 26 Sep tember this year. Held in conjunction with the 2nd Ministerial Meet ing of China and Portu guese-speaking Countries Economic and Trade Co-operation ForumThe 11th MIF will coincide with the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of China-Portu guese-speaking Countries Economic and Trade Co-operation Forum (Macao) so as to help entrepreneurs utilise Macao’s advan tages and role as a platform to develop the Mainland and Portuguese-speaking mar kets, provide an opportunity for entrepre neurs from China and Portuguese-speaking countries to communicate and co-operate with each other and to increase the profile of Macao as a service platform for economic and trade co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.Promoting Cross-regional Eco nomic Co-operation Embracing New Development Oppor-tunitiesThe theme of this year’s MIF is to promote cross-regional economic co-op eration and to embrace new development opportunities. The goal is to make full use of development opportunities brought about by CEPA and the Pan Pearl River Delta co-operation, further utilise Macao’s advantages as a service platform for eco nomic and trade co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and for the mutually complementary com munication and co-operation of Chinese entrepreneurs across the world in order to achieve sustainable economic growth. IPIM will continue to organise various forms of economic and trade events using MIF as a platform so as to attract business people from around the world, in particu lar Chinese businessmen from mainland China, Portuguese-speaking countries and the rest of the world to promote cross-re gional economic co-operation and to em brace new development opportunities.Workshop on the Development Strategies of Macao’s Conven tion and Exhibition IndustryIn total, ten Macao Trade and Invest ment Fairs have been successfully held since its debut in 1996. It is now striving to improve based up the wealth of experi ence acquired over the years. Being the largest international integrated exposition offering opportunities for trade promo tion, product display, business matching and sales promotion, MIF provides a good channel for Macao and overseas exhibitors and businessmen to promote their prod ucts and services, to enhance corporate images, acquire industry information and build client relationships. MIF became a UFI certified exhibition in October 2005, which shows its function and role as an international exhibition has been acknowledged by authori tative international bodies. Exhib its at the 11th MIF include Tourism and Travel Accessories, Information Technology, Health Products, Sports Goods, Textiles and Clothing, Financial Services, Toys and Games, Gifts and Pre mium Goods, Food Products and Hotel Equipment.The 11th MIF will provide an even bigger platform for Macao’s convention and exhibition industry by inviting in ternational and mainland convention and exhibition associations and groups to par ticipate. The completion and opening of new convention and exhibition facilities in Macao will present new development opportunities for the city. During MIF this year, Macao Convention and Exhibi tion Association will introduce the Macao Convention and Exhibition Industry De velopment Strategy Research Paper and workshop, hoping to expand the co-op eration platform of Macao’s convention and exhibition industry and provide more comprehensive market data and research.The 4th China Private Enter prises’ Development Forum (Macao)Since Macao’s handover to China, it’s economy has developed rapidly, and the investment environment has con tinued to improve. Various major con struction projects have commenced and Macao’s international status has been elevated. In recent years, Macao has actively taken part in business co-opera tion projects throughout the region and the initiation of regional co-operation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta includes Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gui zhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan these coupled with the two SARs of Hong Kong and Macao, forms the “9+2” an extensive hinterland cover ing 2 million square kilometres. Within this framework, Macao will be able to play a fully-fledged role as an economic and trade service platform. MIF invites enterprises from the Chinese mainland to Macao every year in a bid to pro mote communication and co-operation between businesses in Macao and on the Mainland and to promote cross-re gional economic co-operation. During the 11th MIF the 4th China Private En terprises’ Development Forum (Macao) will be held along with other activities such as a designated exhibition featur ing Portuguese-speaking countries and a Global Chinese Businessmen Economic and Trade Conference so as to enhance cross-regional economic co-operation. Portuguese-speaking countries are a market that has huge potential development and will complement the economic development of China. Given its unique historical and cul tural background, Macao will continue to strengthen its own competitive ad vantage to become an economic and trade co-operation platform between China and Portuguese-speaking coun tries. MIF has also attracted govern ment delegates and entrepreneurs from Portuguese-speaking countries and has therefore set up an exhibition featuring Portuguese-speaking countries as well as related activities, providing a good opportunity for exposition participants to interact and co-operate so as to con tribute to economic and trade co-op eration between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. The date of the 11th MIF was moved forward so that it would coincide with the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Economic and Trade Co-operation Forum (Macao) so as to in crease the profile of Macao as a service platform for economic and trade co-op eration between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.Strengthening business matching and purchasing consultationsThe 11th MIF will further improve activities such as the purchase consul tation centre, business matching area, forums and presentations. Wal-Mart attended MIF last year and participat ed in purchasing meetings. This year the organisers will again contact mul tinationals to ask them to participate in purchasing meetings so as to create business opportunities for local del egates. The 11th MIF will offer more diversified business matching opportu nities such as on and off-site matching including overseas matching. The 11th MIF will strive to be more efficient and to generate more publicity. For exam ple, business delegations will be organ ised to participate in MIF so as to in crease the number of delegates. Better transportation services will be provided so that delegates can enjoy a one-stop service. The organisers this year will set up a service counter inside the ven ue so as to provide improved services to delegates from home and abroad.IPIM hopes that Macao’s business community will provide them with rel evant project information for business partnerships.(Contact: Mr. Tylar Ian of IPIM on 87989297)General Information about the 11th MIFThe 11th MIF will have about 320 exhibition booths, 220 indoor and 100 outdoor. Designated exhibitions fi nalised now include an Exhibition of Macao Goods and an Exhibition of Por tuguese-speaking Countries. The or ganisers are now working with a num ber of chambers of commerce and other organisations to have more themed ex hibitions in a bid to present attractive products and services.RULES AND REGULATIONSGeneral Information Fair FactsName：11th Macao International Trade & Investment FairDate： 23 – 26 September, 2006 (Sunday to Wednesday)Venue：Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment CentreOpening HoursIndoor: 23 September, 12:00 – 19:00 24 – 25 September, 10:00 – 19:00 26 September, 10:00 – 17:00Outdoor: 23 September, 12:00 – 21:00 24 – 25 September, 10:00 – 21:00 26 September, 10:00 – 19:00ExhibitsTourism and Travel Accessories, Information Technology, Health Products, Sports Goods, Textiles and Clothing, Financial Services, Toys and Games, Gifts and Premium Goods, Foodstuffs and specialties, Hotel Equipment, etcFor more information about the 11th MIF, please call Mr. Che Sio Hong or Ms. Iris Tou of the MIF Administrative Center of Macao Convention and Exhibition Association.Telephone: (853) 713913 Fax (853) 715009 or visit MIF’s website: www.mif.com.mo or IPIM’s website: www.ipim.gov.mo