Macau European Chamber of Commerce holds gala dinner

The Macau European Chamber of Commerce (MECC) held its 2017 gala dinner at the Grand Lisboa last Friday. This year’s dinner, organized in partnership with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macau, was themed “Ciao! Benvenuto!”.

MECC presented the MECC awards for “Euroexcellence” in luxury, food and beverage, and innovation to Macau companies that uphold European quality standards. The awards were first launched in 2015 to encourage local enterprises to engage in Sino-Western collaboration, continuing Macau’s cross-cultural heritage while creating business opportunities.

This year’s winners were Sands China Ltd, which won the MECC Award for Euroexcellence in Luxury for its promotion of European luxury and lifestyle. Man Seng Group won the Award for Euroexcellence in Food and Beverage for its efforts to introduce diverse European culinary products to Macau. The Award for Euroexcellence in Innovation went to Premium & Collectibles Trading Company Limited for its use of advanced technology in the manufacture of toy models and action figures.

Ambrose So, Honorary Chairman of MECC, said at the event that “Macau has always played an important role in China-Italy relations, starting with the arrival of Matteo Ricci in Macau in 1852. MECC is pleased to continue the role of fostering ties between Macau, China and Europe.”

So added that a report on the EU’s role in stimulating Macau’s development was published last January, which highlighted the role that European companies can play in fulfilling Macau’s strategic goals for its five-year plan.

Carmen Cano, Head of Office of the EU to Hong Kong and Macau, said, “The EU and its business community are keen to work with the Macau government to diversify its economy, improve the sustainability of its economic development and promote bilateral trade and investment flows.”

She stated that EU businesses already play an important role in Macau’s infrastructure projects and expansion plans.  

 The gala dinner featured musical performances of classic Italian numbers by a pianist, accordionist and vocalist. Each of the trio’s songs represented a different Italian city, allowing guests to “travel within Italy” through music.