From left, Gary Ngai; Gloria Ng, member executive board of IPIM; Consul General of Peru in HK and Macau, Sergio Manuel Avila Travesa; Xiaohuan Tang; Martin Alexander Wurm.
An investment promotion seminar on “Wealth in Andes-Precious Metal Investment Opportunities in Latin America” was held last week by the Macau Association for the Promotion of Exchange between Asia-Pacific and Latin America (MAPEAL). According to organizers, the event was created in line with recent efforts to turn Macau into an effective hub for outbound investment to Latin America.
The speakers presented a synopsis of the mining industry in the Andean region and the investment climate of certain Latin American countries. MAPEAL President, Gary Ngai, indicated his belief that investing in gold mines in Peru and lithium mines in Chile is a profitable industry.
“You can see it’s growing very fast; gold mines and lithium mines. The whole world is demanding these kinds of products and Macau can jump onto it. Jump on the bandwagon, we call it.”
Ngai, whose biography “A Witness to History: an overseas Chinese in mainland China and Macau” was recently published, argues that Macau must diversify the region’s economy from gaming and that one approach involves outbound investment. He has additionally identified further investment opportunities that Macau could seize in the future such as in agriculture, manufacturing and real estate.
Martin Alexander Wurm, Founder and CEO of Euromerica Capital Group Inc., hinted that Macau should take advantage of its city’s historical ties with Latin American countries. In this culturally diverse region, Wurm has stated his belief that forums like this particular one are beneficial for Macau and should be continually promoted.
“I think indeed for foreigners, for Europeans, for Latin Americans, this is a place where you would feel comfortable. I think it’s very attractive at some point and Macau should take advantage of it,” said Wurm.
“There’s a lot of money to be invested from China and they’re looking for channels and I would say that Macau can be such a channel,” he added.
In hopes of encouraging the audience to become involved in these investments, a presentation of mining companies’ stock data was shown to the audience to present an overview of the possible investment returns.
To strengthen Macau’s position as a platform for accessing Latin America, Xiaohuan Tang, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Wealth Minerals Ltd., affirmed that now is the right time to start such investments in Macau. He believes that since the city aims to nurture environmental businesses, an awareness of this industry should be raised.
“We present to you a method that you can only find in Latin America, an environmentally and energy friendly business.”
Tang, whose company focuses on the exploration and development of precious metal projects, also said that forums such as this would be needed if the city seeks to be internationalized with the intention of cultivating a favorable environment for investors and local government.
He said that he is a big believer in Macau’s development in terms of these projects.
“If you try, you may fail but if you don’t try you’ll never win, so you’ll have to start,” he added.
Last week’s event was hosted by the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. Staff reporter
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