Moving the Fund for Development Co-operation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries to the MSAR will allow Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOE’s) to establish partnerships with local companies and use their experience to prepare investments in lusophone countries, a representative from the Fund said yesterday.
“Macau companies have great potential, and the Fund is here get to know their necessities and help them by fostering co-operation with SOE’s through initiatives such as networking sessions,” the Fund’s Managing Director, Jin Guangze, said yesterday.
The statements were made at yesterday’s Summit on the Construction of the Platform of Services for Commercial Co-operation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries of Macau supported by Chinese State-owned Enterprises.
According to Ms. Jin, state-owned enterprises have to have “more flexibility and change with the situations” while investing in lusophone countries and that the Fund’s experience in developing projects can help SOE’s “collect information and find solutions for any obstacles found”.
With the Fund now based in Macau, she considers that the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macao) “could help us find the perfect notion of the obstacles” in the way of business opportunities in Portuguese-speaking countries.
Although the Fund has “only” US$1 billion (MOP8 billion), its financial support could complement a US$5 billion joint investment between SOE’s, local companies and Portuguese-speaking companies, noted the CEO of CESL Asia, Antonio Trindade.
“I think SOE’s can make a lot of win-win partnerships through the Fund in Macau,” he added.
However Mr. Trindade considered that Macau’s financial services could still be further developed, especially in the investment banking sector or in the organisation of infrastructure investments.
Moving down south
The Fund headquarters will officially be moved from Beijing to Macau today, operating initially from the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) Business Support Centre, and afterwards from the future Complex of the Trade Co-operation Services Platform between China the Portuguese-speaking Countries.
Created in 2013, a total of 60 per cent of the Fund’s initial US$125 million capital was provided by the China Development Bank (CDB), with 40 per cent granted by the Macau Industrial and Commercial Development Fund, with further fundraising increasing the capital to US$1 billion.
The Fund is managed by the China-Africa Development Fund, a part of CBD, and focuses on supporting business and investment opportunities between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
Financial support granted by the Fund can range between US$5 million to US$20 million, and since it was set up it has granted financial support to an agricultural project in Mozambique and an electricity supply project in Angola.
This year the Fund announced it will grant US$20 million in support for a solar project in Brazil, and that it would invest the same amount in local businessman David Chow’s US$280 million integrated resort project in the African country of Cape Verde.
