Trade and investment a priority over being an international fair: IPIM

Continuing to promote trade and investment in Macau is more important and a higher priority than keeping the standard as an international fair, the president of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), Benson Lau, said yesterday.
Questioned by the media on the topic during a press conference on the 26th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF), Lau said that the role of the MIF in promoting trade and investment among different countries and regions, especially with China and the Lusophone countries, was a clear priority over having international participation on-site.
Lau noted that the Covid-19 pandemic is turning many international-level events “less international” due to travel restrictions, but “this is happening everywhere and not just in Macau.” He noted that other locations around the globe are also facing similar difficulties and a “lack of internationalization” when compared with previous years.
The IPIM president remarked that organizers are striving as best they can to ensure the event remains productive, including resorting to online and virtual tools.
“We are doing our best online and offline to make this event the best we possibly can. We are also communicating with exhibitors about what we are doing, and we have put our best efforts [into this hybrid] online and offline model, which is quite acceptable at the moment,” Lau remarked. He added that additional effort is being expended to “step-up on content and improve the platforms for the users.”
This year’s MIF also sees a joint effort with other exhibitions and forums such as the Macao Franchise Expo 2021 and the 2021 Portuguese-speaking Countries Products and Services Exhibition (Macau) to leverage synergies when organizing an event of this size in Macau while border restrictions still do not allow the entry of any foreigners.
This year’s edition takes place between December 10 and 12 and, as per last year, will also include a series of smaller-scale events, including the “2021 Science and Technology Week and Innovation and Technology Achievement Exhibition” and “China Traditional Chinese Medicine Health (Macao) Brand Exhibition 2021.”
This year, due to the lower number of participants in other events, these events are covering an area of 3,500 and 3,000 square meters respectively, a 10 and 12-fold increase of floorspace respectively.
In his speech, Lau said that the increased footprint of these two events is also related to the direction of the industrial development in Macau and the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
As in previous editions, the first day (December 10) is reserved for the attendance of professionals, while the fair is open to the general public on the following days.