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Three simultaneous expos help to seek business opportunities

The 25th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (25th MIF), the Macao Franchise Expo 2020 (2020MFE) and the 2020 Portuguese Speaking Countries Products and Services Exhibition (Macao) (2020PLPEX) were held concurrently at the same venue in 2020 in what was a first. Arrangements for exhibiting online were improved for 2020, allowing the events to be held online and offline, producing better, synergistic effects. Despite the disruption wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, some exhibitors said they had achieved fruitful results, which might help them explore various new markets through the exhibition platforms offered by Macao.

Over 100 agreements were signed at this MIF, MFE and PLPEX. The agreements were on the introduction of Made-in-Macao products and Macao-branded products to specialty supermarkets; the opening of sales channels on local e-commerce platforms for Portuguese-speaking Countries’ products; procurement of Macao-made face masks; procurement of agricultural products from Mainland China; and collaboration on scientific research projects. More than 670 meetings took place both online and offline, which enabled exhibitors and traders to discuss future co-operation through the trade shows organised in Macao.

The three exhibitions took up 25,000 square metres of floor space and exhibitors occupied about 1,200 booths. On the online platform for the three exhibitions more than 1,100 exhibitors displayed over 4,300 products. The face-to-face business-matching sessions were supplemented by online business-matching and by arrangements for signing documents online, allowing business-matching sessions to be conducted wholly online, or partly online. Some themed matching activities were arranged.

The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) gave people attending the exhibitions guided tours of traditional neighbourhoods of Macao. IPIM arranged the tours in collaboration with the Macao Economic Bureau, the Macao Government Tourism Office, the Industry and Commerce Federation of Macau Central and Southern District, and the Industry and Commerce Federation of Islands of Macao. By focusing on introducing shops with local characteristics to trade visitors, the tours were designed to benefit local communities, and to help small and medium-sized enterprises expand their businesses, especially for those shops located in the city’s older districts.

Enterprises hoping to overcome challenges in a pandemic period

China Diamond & GEM Exchange (Macau) Co. Ltd. (MDGE) is a company launched at the MIF in 2018. It returned to the annual exhibition in 2020. Mr Su Wei, Chairman of MDGE said the company had developed smoothly until the end of 2019.

MDGE is well-recognised by major exchanges trading in precious stones. Representatives of the company visited some of the biggest exchanges in 2019, including Beurs Voor Diamanthandel based in Antwerp, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Angolan National Diamond Trading Co., known as SODIAM EP. In addition to receiving representatives from Myanmar Mining Enterprise and the Vice-President of that country’s Central Bank, MDGE also sent delegations to Myanmar twice. Mr Su said such exchanges showed that a solid foundation for co-operation had been built between MDGE and exchanges in some of the most important countries in the global jewellery industry.

Big customers of MDGE in Israel, Antwerp in Belgium, Hong Kong and India have been offered membership of its exchange and invited to register companies in Macao, Mr Su said. He said that if a customer encountered any problem registering a company in Macao, MDGE and IPIM would work together to solve it.

The pandemic has caused the suspension or postponement of a lot of work. Mr Su said Israel Diamond Exchange had invited his company to set up a 4-metre-long display counter at the biggest jewellery show in Israel, and to recruit exchange members there. However, the pandemic has prevented MDGE from doing so, he said.

MDGE’s deals around the world are backed by the Mainland Chinese market for global transactions, and the company makes use of credits accumulated by the Shanghai Diamond Exchange over the past two decades.

The pandemic has halted gem processing and trading around the world, and prevented their resumption. In Mainland China, jewellery trading returned to normal in June 2020, but the trade is hampered by obstacles such as the dearth of stock in Mainland China and the suspension of production in other countries. MDGE is now actively seeking to spread its resources around the world.

Due to the increase of transportation costs and shortage of goods, MDGE displayed at the 25th MIF to help the local jewellery industry overcome difficulties and to better understand the needs of the Macao market.

Seeking to expand

Mr Su acknowledges the market may not return any time soon to the heights it reached in 2019. He said the industry should recognise this, so it could transform itself. The market for jewellery used to be global and comprehensive, but the pandemic disrupted it. Even if a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, it will take time for regional co-operation to resume, he said.

Mr Su said Macao must strive to strengthen its position, in line with the national development plan, to give full play to Macao’s advantages. Those advantages include extensive connections with the Portuguese-speaking Countries, being a free port, a legal system similar to those in continental Europe, and a well-established environment for tourism. These advantages could help the jewellery trading industry in Macao to develop into a world-famous one, he said.

Once the market opens up in 2021, there will be a series of important events, including the first Macao International Jewellery Fair, Mr Su said. The fair will be put on by the biggest jewellery company in the world. The event was scheduled for October 2020 but was postponed until May 2021. Whether it can take place depends on the city’s border restrictions at the time. Mr Su said MDGE intended to attend the MIF in 2021, as the trade show was a good platform to introduce the company to the local market and potential customers. When foreigners are again allowed to enter Macao, co-operation between MDGE and worldwide invited customers can be further promoted, he added.

Coins to e-coins

Mr Oscar Leung is the founder and Chief Executive of Payboy Ltd., the developer of a coin recycling machine that accepts coins in exchange for the equivalent value in another form of money. At the latest MIF, Payboy sought to show potential partners its machine and the services it offers, with a view to further co-operation. Many people keep large numbers of coins at home and the Payboy machine accepts them so they can be put back into circulation, reducing the need to mint new coins. The machine can reload stored-value cards with the value of the coins deposited.

Payboy was established in Hong Kong and started operating there in May 2017. By January 2020, social issues and the pandemic in Hong Kong had brought the business to a standstill. Mr Leung said he hoped that the experience Payboy gained there could help it operate better in Macao.

The founder of Payboy said its machine was intended for the Macao market, instead of Mainland China, because coins are rarely used in the latter’s market. In a first phase, Payboy plans to co-operate with banks to provide merchants and the wider community with self-service deposit machines, and to help electronic payment companies with their settlement and stored-value card operations.

The machine will be launched in the Macao market soon, Mr Leung said. He said Payboy, Macao banks and electronic payment companies had been discussing offering customised services. From experience, the company has learnt that the location for putting its machines involved rent, and the handling fee for each transaction was paid by the customers. Payboy hopes that the operation model in Macao would eventually be to work with businesses with good profit margins, such as supermarkets. In that event the merchants would bear the handling costs when the customers buy in their supermarkets using the machines.

Mr Leung pointed out that the electronic payments business is still growing in Macao. He believes it will take a long time for Macao to become a cashless economy. Official data from the Monetary Authority of Macao shows the amount of coins in circulation keeps growing. Mr Leung said Macao being a tourist city made it impossible to avoid using cash.

Mr Leung said the number of visitors to this year’s MIF was greater than he expected. He said holding the MIF, MFE and PLPEX concurrently had helped draw a stronger flow of visitors, helping exhibitors achieve better results.

Help ‘Going Out’

With three concurrent exhibitions, local companies were successfully matched, while several co-operation agreements were signed.

Kimberley Trading established in Macao in 2016 the Noble Mart chain of supermarkets. The company aimed its supermarkets at mid-market and high-end customers, opening one each at the Venetian Macao, Sands Cotai Central and the Parisian Macao. Among the goods the supermarkets sell are daily necessities for travelling, snacks, light meals and souvenirs.

Mr Kenny Lao, Vice-president of Operations of Kimberley Trading, said Noble Mart has been co-operating with brand owners in souvenirs, cultural and creative sectors, as well as time-honoured brands, to set up display areas in its supermarkets to promote local products.

During the three exhibitions, Tong Iec Pak Fa Fui Cheong Un Co. Ltd., 8 Bit Blocks Studio Ltd., Chi Fung Food Co. Ltd. and Macau Soap and Detergent Production Co. Ltd. struck deals with Kimberley Trading to sell their products in Noble Mart supermarkets.

The products of more than 20 Macao companies and products bearing brands well-known in the city are sold in Noble Mart supermarkets. Nearly 10 deals to sell such products were facilitated by the IPIM Macao Ideas platform. Mr Lao said the IPIM Macao Ideas service was ideal for business-matching, allowing one party to scrutinise the background of the other, which increased confidence. The service has had greater success in matchmaking than negotiations the parties arrange themselves.

Kimberley Trading will invest more its resources in selling Macao brands in Noble Mart supermarkets, Mr Lao said.

Although the pandemic had disrupted the Macao market, his company was confident about its prospects. There has been no significant decrease in customer purchasing power, and there is more demand for certain products, he said. Kimberley Trading has plans to open two more supermarkets, one of them in Rua de Pequim, to expand its customer base outside the city’s integrated resorts.

The 26th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair and the 2020 Portuguese Speaking Countries Products and Services Exhibition (Macao) are due to be held simultaneously from 21 to 23 October 2021.

Digital opportunities discussed at forums

More than 50 associated events were held during this MIF, MFE and PLPEX. These events included forums, conferences, and promotional seminars. The “2020 International Trade and Investment Forum and Forum on Chain and Franchise Business Opportunities of International Brands” were held under the theme “Co-creation of Beneficial and Brand-new Business Opportunity with Exploration of the Digital Economy”. Professionals in digital marketing services, famous brand designers and brand operation directors shared their insights into how to use digital tools for marketing.

Other activities were also arranged during the events to provide exchange platforms for exhibitors from different regions. They included: the “17th World Summit of Chinese Entrepreneurs”; the “Fujian, Macao and Portuguese-speaking Countries Economic Exchange Networking Session”; the “Portuguese-speaking Countries Wine and Food Business-Matching Seminar”.

Mr Wang Jianfei, Senior Director of Ocean Engine, Guangdong Branch, was one of the speakers at the “2020 International Trade and Investment Forum and Forum on Chain and Franchise Business Opportunities of International Brands”.
Ocean Engine is a comprehensive digital marketing service platform belonging to Beijing Bytedance Technology Co. Ltd. Ocean Engine has integrated digital platform products popular in Mainland China, including TikTok, which is known as the international version of Douyin, and information content platform Toutiao.

Mr Wang said Ocean Engine used to believe that traffic should be the core of a business, meaning that the flow of customers should be the factor determining its success or failure. But the popularity of the Internet means that view is out of date.

The market has progressed from what Mr Wang called the “traffic era” to what he calls the “digital content era” as the digital economy has become more popular. More important than price are “good products, sound scenes, interesting stories, well-established brands and great quality”, he said. Companies should create quality content by using still pictures and videos, to generate traffic and revenue, he said.

Mr Wang said the development of digital content in the Macao market has fallen behind the development of digital content in the Mainland Chinese market, owing mainly to differences between the business environments and the ways information is used in each market. He suggested that Macao companies intending to explore the Mainland Chinese market should use Hengqin Island as a base for communication and cross-border co-operation. Macao companies can couch the presentation of their products and services in terms of traffic, content and brand design, and grasp the opportunities brought by the era of digital content, he said.

Mr Johnny Qiu, Creative Director of Dragon Like Design Associate, Inc., was also a speaker at the forum, and the company participated in the online exhibition platform. He shared his experience regarding brand design and packaging. According to Mr Qiu, the firm began providing services to Mainland Chinese catering brands, including brand development, design, and concept development in 2015.

Dragon Like Design Associate helps the owners of distinctive brands to rebuild their businesses and to create conditions for franchising. The company has so far helped brand owners add more than 3,000 branches to their chains of outlets in Mainland China, which have together added more than RMB20 billion to their annual output value.

Mr Qiu said Macao, the adjoining Mainland Chinese province of Guangdong, and China as a whole had many valuable brands, but that the designs of these brands should be revamped in terms of site selection, menus and the setting of their respective venues, to draw the attention of consumers. Mainland Chinese look for brands not just at home but further afield, too. They are interested in the products and services of Macao and Hong Kong, and they expect to find well-known brands in shopping malls in their home towns. Mr Qiu believes Macao brands, especially brands of food and souvenirs, have the potential to penetrate the Mainland Chinese market, but that the brand vision and concept should take into account better the expectations of consumers in each place where the brands are sold.

Dragon Like Design Associate had never before exhibited at the MIF, MFE or PLPEX.

Mr Qiu said he hoped to use the “excellent platform” provided by the trade shows to help the Mainland China consumers better understand Macao’s high-quality original brands and assist catering companies from Mainland China to “go global”.