Last Friday, the Forum and IPIM celebrated the first anniversary of the Exhibition Centre of Food Products from Portuguese-speaking countries, in addition to launching ‘Exhibition Points’ for the Luso countries.

Food for thought

Angola and Mozambique are seeking economic diversification as a way to gain further visibility and access to the Chinese market, said Vicente de Jesus Manuel, Assistant Secretary of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macao).
Speaking to Business Daily on the sidelines of an event organized by the Forum and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) last Friday, the Forum’s vice secretary-general said the two Portuguese-speaking African countries are investing in the manufacturing of goods, which is expected to boost their value of exports.
“Angola, which used to depend only on oil, has potential [to develop] other areas such as fishing and agriculture. [It] is working intensely to develop areas such as the manufacturing of wood, in order to increase the aggregated value [of goods],” said Mr. Manuel.
Food products are among the new areas to be developed, not only in Angola, but also in Mozambique, where natural resources continue to top the country’s exports to China, according to Rafael Custódio Marques, Consul General of Mozambique.
Mr. Marques explained to Business Daily that Mozambique’s main exports to China comprise wood, gas and coal, “which are now in a process of prospection.”
In regards to the current difficulties in diversifying exports to the Chinese market, the Consul General said phytosanitary barriers are still in place. However, he added: “they are in the course of being suppressed and [may] be overcome soon.”

Bridging
“Forum Macao performs a complementary role, but it does not replace bilateral relations,” explained Mr. Manuel at the Forum.
Last Friday, the Forum and IPIM celebrated the first anniversary of the Exhibition Centre of Food Products from Portuguese-speaking countries, in addition to launching ‘Exhibition Points’ for the Luso countries.
The exhibition, showcasing new food products and products from the Lusophone world that are already on the market in Macau and China, is perceived as another way of expanding bilateral business, in addition to the online platform IPIM launched a year ago.
“I think [the Centre] is a very good ‘window.’ In order to conquer the Chinese market, we have to exhibit the products and make ourselves known. We have been using the online platform, but it is always better when we can see and taste [the products],” suggested Mr. Marques.
Tourism is another area in which Macau is seemingly performing an important role, with Mr. Manuel noting that the city has appeared as “a reference” in the conferences the Forum has organized in the past few years.
According to the Assistant Secretary-general, Macau is also developing in the training of bilingual professionals.
“[During] the 4th Conference of the Forum, it was decided that Macau had to invest more in the training of bilingual personnel. We already have several courses here, and it is producing results.”


Chinese investment
Mozambique’s Consul General to Macau, Rafael Custódio Marques, explained to Business Daily that Chinese investments in Mozambique have accrued intensely in recent years, through both the Forum platform and at the bilateral level since the independence of the country in 1975. The presence of Chinese companies in Mozambique is mainly apparent in the field of infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, airports and schools, in addition to the field of exploitation of natural resources and agriculture, according to the consul-general. Types of investment include concessionary loans and public-private partnerships (PPP).