Pesquisar

Entrepreneurs Meeting in São Tomé and Príncipe helps Macao companies venture abroad

Opening ceremony of the Entrepreneurs Meeting for Commercial and Economic Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries – São Tomé – 2019

Almost 400 people attended the Entrepreneurs Meeting for Commercial and Economic Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries – São Tomé – 2019, which held successfully on 8 and 9 July in the capital of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Mrs Irene Va Kuan Lau, President of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), led the party of 30 Macao businesspeople to the Meeting and interacted with their São Toméan counterparts.

Members of the Macao group told Macao Image that their attendance had borne fruit. They said they had found the potential for investment in many fields in São Tomé and Príncipe and that these would assist in the country’s development. They said the financial bar to investment in São Tomé and Príncipe was set low enough for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Macao to expand there.

Meeting held for its first time at São Tomé and Príncipe

Nearly 400 people from Portuguese-speaking Countries attended the meeting in the Portuguese-speaking Countries

The São Tomé and Príncipe Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and IPIM jointly organised the Meeting. The Meeting’s theme was “Promoting Economic Growth and Sharing Prosperity”. During the Meeting, 6 agreements were signed. Among them were agreements on co-operation by governments, co-operation by chambers of commerce in rendering legal and commercial services, business donations and co-operation by companies rendering financial services.

The event also included more than 80 business-matching sessions meant to bring together Chinese and entrepreneurs from Portuguese-speaking Countries. The sessions were for entrepreneurs in the businesses of tourism and related services, infrastructure development, trade, the processing of food, and other products, agriculture and, livestock farming and more. Those attending were invited to inspect palm oil and hotel ventures in the south of the island of São Tomé.

At the opening ceremony, Mr Jorge Bom Jesus, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe, said the Meeting was an occasion for exchanges of information and discussions about development. He said those attending would learn from each other’s experiences and contribute to the economic development of his country.

The Prime Minister said he believed many of those attending were visiting São Tomé and Príncipe for the first time. He said his country welcomed representatives from various parts of the world in the hope that they would strengthen ties between São Tomé and Príncipe and each of their countries, and so spur development.
Mrs Irene Va Kuan Lau, President of IPIM, said that as the Meeting was held in São Tomé and Príncipe for the first time, the co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries was becoming broader and closer.

The Meeting was the 13th in a series which began in 2005. Altogether, the Meetings attracted over 5,000 entrepreneurs from China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, encompassed over 3,400 business-matching sessions and were the occasion for the signing of over 90 agreements. IPIM’s President Lau said the Meetings had been pivotal in facilitating economic engagement between Mainland China, Macao and the Portuguese-speaking world.

Deepening Macao’s platform role

The party of Macao businesspeople were in São Tomé and Príncipe from 5 to 13 July in 2019. Aside from attending the conference, the party tried to get to know the country and engage with their São Toméan counterparts. The efforts of the visitors may help Macao enterprises take opportunities offered by the development of Mainland China and make use of the function of Macao as a Commercial and Trade Co-operation Service Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, and as a Financial Services Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries.

The Macao party included representatives from businesses in the fields of finance, manufacturing, services, trading, retailing and infrastructure. They visited enterprises in the industrial zones of Agostinho Neto, Ribeira Palma and Neves in the north of the island of São Tomé. They were also received by Mr Wang Wei, Chinese Ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe, and Mr Gao Jinbao, Economic and Trade Counsellor to the Chinese Embassy in São Tomé and Príncipe.

The Ambassador told the visitors from Macao that the latest Meeting on economic engagement between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries was being held in São Tomé and Príncipe for the first time with the purposes of inspiring China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries, and to showcase São Tomé and Príncipe to the rest of the Lusophone world. Staging the meeting would also increase the competence of the São Toméans that helped arrange it.

The Ambassador acknowledged the vitality of Macao businesspeople, their ability to innovate, and their willingness to co-operate in efforts to reduce poverty in São Tomé and Príncipe. Ambassador Wang added that he hoped Macao and São Tomé and Príncipe would co-operate more closely and create more opportunities for each to spur the development of the other.

IPIM and the São Tomé and Príncipe Trade and Investment Promotion Agency signed an agreement during the meeting

Affordable for SMEs

Among the party of Macao businesspeople was Mr Tony Hoi, International Business Manager of Perfeição Lda. Mr Hoi said he and many others in the party were visiting São Tomé and Príncipe for the first time. He said they saw potential there for the development, such as tourism and export of farm products.

The Perfeição executive told Macao Image that the business-matching sessions during the Meeting had put his company in touch with enterprises and delivered information about the potential of development projects in São Tomé and Príncipe. These projects included the establishment of a chocolate factory and a small hotel, which would require the investment of only a few million patacas, Mr Hoi said. The financial bar to investment was set lower in São Tomé and Príncipe than in other Portuguese-speaking Countries, making the country a place where Macao SMEs could afford to invest, he added.

Perfeição was established in 2013. The company provides business and investment consultancy services, helping Chinese companies penetrate markets in the Portuguese-speaking Countries.

Mr Hoi said visiting São Tomé and Príncipe had taught him about the business environment in the country, so allowing Perfeição to begin building a business network there. He said his company would recommend projects there suitable for companies in Macao and Mainland China, and that it would keep an eye on developments in São Tomé and Príncipe.

Mr Tony Hoi, International Business Manager of Perfeição Lda, says the visit to São Tomé and Príncipe had taught him about the business environment in the country

Rich agricultural products, resources

Another member of the party of Macao businesspeople was Seng Pan Ltd. Ms Jessica Tong, Managing Director of Seng Pan Ltd. Ms Tong said her visit to São Tomé and Príncipe had taught her about the national culture and had been a rewarding experience. The country produces abundant crops of cocoa and coffee, and Seng Pan had made contact with three or four São Toméan companies which it may be able to work with in importing and exporting food and other agricultural products.

Ms Tong said she had brought back some samples of coffee beans to test the quality of the products. She thought Macao companies could find plenty of business opportunities in São Tomé and Príncipe.

Seng Pan was established in 2006. The company, involved in import, export, sale and the agency business, trades in fresh and roasted coffee beans, tea, food and the equipment needed for preparing coffee.

Ms Tong told Macao Image that Brazil is the biggest source of the coffee beans Seng Pan bought from Portuguese-speaking Countries. She said her company now intended to buy coffee beans from São Tomé and Príncipe.

The Seng Pan executive said São Tomé and Príncipe had abundant coffee crops, but that the techniques for harvesting and processing the beans could be improved, and that her company, with its years of experience, could help the country to improve them.
Ms Tong said Seng Pan might eventually begin processing coffee beans in São Tomé and Príncipe if it could find the right people there to do the work, and if government policy was conducive to making such an investment.