Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) President Vincent U U Sang told the media yesterday that the number of contracts signed during this year’s Guangdong & Macau Branded Products Fair (GMBPF) “exceeded” that of last year.
U, who did not elaborate, made the remarks during yesterday morning’s media interviews organised by IPIM during the annual fair, which for the first time was held at the Galaxy International Convention Centre (GICC) in Cotai.
The four-day GMBPF ended yesterday. The event, which took place in Hall A-E of the GICC, attracted tens of thousands of fairgoers from Macau, the mainland and elsewhere.
The fair, themed New Venue, Market-tested Products, Unprecedented Opportunities’, certainly stuck true to its theme with its new venue at the GICC and focus on the semi-finished food industry and Macau’s ‘Four Key Industries’, offering a myriad of new products that visitors couldn’t even find online or elsewhere, U said.
U noted that a top electric car brand from mainland China had taken this opportunity to promote its newest model at the fair, making good use of the ‘novelty impact’ Macau’s MICE industry offers, which, according to U, is evident in the company’s two million pataca turnover at the fair. U did not reveal the name of the brand.
When asked about the reason behind the venue change, U said: “We wanted to expand the MICE sector, and competition in the MICE industry is more between cities than between venues.” U said he believed that the venue change would bring in more business opportunities, as well as boost trust and interest from local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the industry.
Previously, the fair was held at The Venetian Macao, and this time it was extended by one day.
Regarding new developments at this year’s GMBPF, U said that over 95 percent of the exhibitors had used recyclable materials, an “immense” effort to cut down on non-renewable wastes and gas emissions.
U revealed that the government’s three-year plan for the promotion of the semi-finished food industry will continue next year.
Meanwhile, according to an IPIM statement last night, the fair logged about 100,000 visitors, while 338 business matching sessions were held and 54 business deals were signed.
Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) President Vincent U U Sang speaks to the media yesterday on the last day of the four-day 2023 Guangdong & Macau Branded Products Fair (GMBPF) at the Galaxy International Convention Centre (GICC) in Cotai.
– Photo: Yuki Lei
