Lei Wai Nong, Macao’s financial secretary, has unveiled plans for the construction of an innovation park in Hengqin in cooperation with authorities in Zhuhai.
The Sino-Portuguese-speaking Science and Technology Center will aim to lure startups and tech-forward companies from the lusophone world to the Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to a report by the Lusa news agency.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the China International Technology Fair, in Shanghai, Lei said he wanted to “create better conditions for innovative companies” to use Macao and Hengqin as gateways to “explore opportunities” in the GBA.
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Anton Tai, the head of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau, said the aim was to help “advanced technology projects from Portuguese-speaking countries to enter the Greater Bay Area market”.
He said that cooperation between academia and business would also be fostered.
Macao is keen to position itself as the natural bridge between lusophone nations and China. It also has ambitions to become a high-tech hub in order to reduce its dependence on gaming, with Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng calling for the development of technology as one of four new industries to buttress the main economic pillar of tourism.
