Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen said yesterday that the government would further improve the city’s rose as a business service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries by setting up three strategic centres – a centre for commercial services for small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a convention and exhibition centre and a centre for the marketing of foodstuffs.
Tam made the remarks in a speech during lunch at Macau Tower attended by ministerial-level delegations from the Portuguese-speaking world.
Tam said that according to the announcement made by Vice Premier Wang Yang during last year’s 4th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, the central government supports the setting-up of the three centres in Macau. Macau has hosted the forum since its inaugural meeting in 2003.
“The [local] government] is doing its best to have [the three centres] set up and improve its role as a business service platform and boost co-operation and trade between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries,” Tam said.
During last year’s visit to Macau, Wang also announced eight new measures to boost co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and support the development of Portuguese-speaking countries. The measures include 1.8 billion yuan provided by the central government in concessional loans to the forum’s Asian and African members. The forum convenes every three years.
The forum’s members comprise Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Portugal.
(macaunews/macaupost)
