Macau News

Ho Hau Wah says there exists "great scope for co-operation"between Macau and Yangjiang City in western Guangdong, namely in the area of tourism, logistics and business services.

Speaking during the two-day working visit to Yangjiang on March 23-24, Mr Ho said that co-operation between the two sides was based on the Macau Government's "triple platform" business-promotion strategy.

According to its long-term strategy, Macau offers entrepreneurs, investors and traders three distinct business-service platforms, namely economic and trade co-operation between China and the Portuguese-speaking world, business services for western Guangdong and support for exchanges and co-operation among overseas Chinese businesspeople.

The delegation, which included representatives of several well-known multinational companies based in Hong Kong, was received by Yangjiang's top municipal government officials and business community leaders.

Yangjiang, which is located on the south-western coast of Guangdong Province, lies some 290 kilometres west of Macau. The municipality, which is popularly known as "the capital of knives, scissors and kites" has about 2.6 million residents, covering an area of 7,813 square kilometres.

Western Guangdong has some 32 million inhabitants, about the same as Canada, covering an area of 71,400 square kilometres, which is about the size of Ireland. The Macau Government regards the development of close ties of co-operation with western Guangdong as one of the mainstays of its strategy to develop Macau into an international platform for business services, logistics and tourism.

MACAU News	MACAU CHIEF EXECUTIVE EDMUND HO HAU WAH HEADS BIG BUSINESS AND TOURISM DELEGATION TO SHEJIANG AND JIANGSU
	A 15O-member business and tourism delegation, headed by Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah paid a working visit to two of China's most prosperous provinces, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, on April 25 to 28. Speaking in Nanjing , Mr Ho said the two provinces were "extremely interested in utilising" Macau's role as a platform for economic and commercial ties with the world's eight Portuguese-speaking countries. The Chief Executive pointed out that the two provinces's political and business community leaders were convinced that the Portuguese-speaking world had "remendous potential" for economic development, adding that both provinces had shown a "very intense interest" in opening up the markets of the Portuguese-speaking countries through Macau. Mr Ho also said the visit had been very successful in promoting trade, investment and tourism ties between Macau and the two provinces. During the visit, Mr Ho and two of his five policy secretaries, Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Fernando Chui Sai On, promoted Macau's role as a three-tier business service platform for western Guangdong, the Portuguese-speaking countries and the world's overseas Chinese business communities. Mr Tam said that Macau was "ready" to assist businesspeople from the two provinces in entering the Portuguese-speaking markets for trade and investments, adding Macau would also help the Portuguese-speaking countries' business communities to set up commercial ties with Zhejiang and Jiangsu. In a series of business promotion meetings during the visit, Mr Tam underlined the benefits of the Macau-Mainland Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), which became effective on January 2004, and the Macau-Zhuhai Cross-Border Industrial Park, which is scheduled to start operating in the near future. Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the Yangtze River Delta boom area have a combined population of 120 million.
	CHIEF EXECUTIVE EDMUND HO HAU WAH SEES GREAT SCOPE FOR CO-OPERATION BETWEEN MACAU AND YANGJIANG
	Ho Hau Wah says there exists "great scope for co-operation"between Macau and Yangjiang City in western Guangdong, namely in the area of tourism, logistics and business services. Speaking during the two-day working visit to Yangjiang on March 23-24, Mr Ho said that co-operation between the two sides was based on the Macau Government's "triple platform" business-promotion strategy. According to its long-term strategy, Macau offers entrepreneurs, investors and traders three distinct business-service platforms, namely economic and trade co-operation between China and the Portuguese-speaking world, business services for western Guangdong and support for exchanges and co-operation among overseas Chinese businesspeople. The delegation, which included representatives of several well-known multinational companies based in Hong Kong, was received by Yangjiang's top municipal government officials and business community leaders. Yangjiang, which is located on the south-western coast of Guangdong Province, lies some 290 kilometres west of Macau. The municipality, which is popularly known as "the capital of knives, scissors and kites" has about 2.6 million residents, covering an area of 7,813 square kilometres. Western Guangdong has some 32 million inhabitants, about the same as Canada, covering an area of 71,400 square kilometres, which is about the size of Ireland. The Macau Government regards the development of close ties of co-operation with western Guangdong as one of the mainstays of its strategy to develop Macau into an international platform for business services, logistics and tourism.