Increased opportunities available in Macau-PSC cooperation

The event will be attended by the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

The two- or three-way relationship between China and the Portuguese-Speaking Countries (PSC) will be in focus today, at an international conference due to be held in Lisbon where Macau’s role as a contact platform will be a central theme.

The conference called, “Macau, a bridge in the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries economic relationship,” for which the Macauhub is media partner, will enhance the role of Forum Macau, which is considered by a number of players in relations between China, Portugal and Portuguese-speaking countries as an opportunity for businesses, particularly to fund projects.

The event also has a partnership with Portugal’s Investment and Foreign Trade Agency (AICEP), whose most recent edition of Portugal Global magazine focuses on Macau, with an interview with General Garcia Leandro, current president of the Jorge Álvares Foundation and former governor of the region, who says that “Macau can have a privileged role for companies that do not directly enter the Chinese market.”

This, he says, thanks to “all the initiatives that Forum Macau has developed, allowing meetings between Chinese entrepreneurs and those from Portuguese-speaking countries” which “have opened up possibilities for two- or three-way relations between companies from various countries that on their own would have no chance of success.”

“This capacity of Macau should be taken to the maximum. China itself, as seen last October at the Ministerial Conference [of Forum Macau], clearly showed the purpose of giving Macau a greater role in this area by proposing 18 concrete measures that will build the capacity of the Forum, even as a financial cooperation platform focused on Macau,” added Garcia Leandro.

“Some PALOP [Portuguese- speaking African countries] and Timor-Leste [East Timor] have felt greater need to get the most out of Forum Macau’s resources, for the opportunities created there, and through the training sessions offered at its training centre and higher education institutions,” he said.

The President of AICEP, Miguel Frasquilho, also challenges Portuguese entrepreneurs to “look with interest at the possibilities that Forum Macau opens up in terms of three-way cooperation, that is, to support investment and development projects between Portuguese-speaking companies and countries.”

Also in an interview with Portugal Global magazine, Whu Zhiwei, chief executive of Companhia de Desenvolvimento Cidade Moderna (Modern City Development – Macau) and of Tin Min Jade says, “the internationalization of Portuguese companies is very important for China, for Macau and for Portugal,” and that “many Chinese companies have come to realize the potential of the Portuguese-speaking country markets. Portugal is decidedly a new potential and privileged partner for the Chinese government and companies.”

“This internationalization is necessary to get interaction and cooperation between different countries. The increasing existence of internationalized companies between China and Portugal will extend the scope, scale and success of cooperation,” said Zhiwei.

The “Macau, a bridge in the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries economic relationship,” conference will take place at the Institute of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP) in Lisbon, and will be attended by the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the Chinese ambassador to Portugal, Cai Run.

The event will also be attended by managers of Portuguese companies with Chinese investors, such as António Mexia, CEO of the Energias de Portugal (EDP) group and João Faria Conceição, executive director of the national grid Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), and businesses with developing relations with China such as Duarte Lynce de Faria, the director of the port of Sines. MDT/Macauhub