Trio trade shows close with record deals and growing business ties

The four-day series of trade shows concluded Saturday, with the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) reporting over 140 contracts signed and 68 new investment projects approved during the events.

Held simultaneously from Wednesday, the 30th Macao International Trade & Investment Fair (MIF), the 2nd China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Economic and Trade Expo (C-PLPEX), and the 2025 Macao Franchise Expo (2025 MFE) attracted more than 1,100 exhibitors from nearly 30 countries and welcomed over 85,000 visitors, including 15,000 trade visitors and professional buyers.

According to IPIM, the number of agreements signed this year (140 signed agreements) increased by more than 30% compared with last year. These agreements spanned sectors including integrated tourism and leisure, traditional Chinese medicine and healthcare, high technology, exhibitions, culture, and sports, among others.

Over the course of the fairs, IPIM introduced more than 350 companies to Macau’s investment environment and commercial advantages. So far, 68 companies – including firms from Portugal and Brazil – have signed letters of intent to invest, a 70% increase year-on-year.

IPIM notes that nearly 80% of the agreements were tied to the “1+4” industries. Meanwhile, about 15% of deals involved Lusophone countries.

Additionally, more than 600 business representatives from Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs), Southeast Asia, and various regions of mainland China visited Macau and the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.

IPIM states that they explored commercial areas and the business environment firsthand, with multiple participants praising the face-to-face interaction opportunities at the expo.

Yuan Xiulin, sales manager at Elite Intelligence Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., said the company brought an “AI-native powered robot” to the event, which drew enthusiastic interest from international buyers.

“A Spanish customer showed great demand,” Yuan noted, adding that the firm recently completed a project worth about USD3 million.

Another mainland exhibitor highlighted the regional significance of cross-border partnerships at MIF, anticipating greater cooperation in the future. He said, “I think the cooperation between Macau and Hengqin will promote better development of this system, and allow enterprises to perform better.” This collaboration reflects broader government strategies to strengthen economic integration and innovation between the two regions.

From the PSC side, one exhibitor expressed optimism about engaging new partners and expanding across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, especially Guangzhou, the partner city for the expo.

Jacqueline Calvo Sánchez, CEO of Café Rito and a C-PLPEX exhibitor, praised the expo’s impact, stating, “Actually, it was beyond my expectation because I see quite a lot of interest in what we do, because we do specialty coffees and Colombian coffee has a denomination of origin. It’s not just coffee, but a specialty coffee.”