Portuguese-speaking trade

After a wealth of experience gained from eight years in the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macao) – which has taken him to countries where the language has a presence – local resident Afonso Chan has learned the advantages the Portuguese-language can have for a career.
Now a Vice-President in local construction company Charlestrong Engineering Technology and Consulting Limited, Afonso uses that knowledge to set up investment opportunities in countries such as Mozambique and East Timor, working as an ambassador to push fellow Macau residents to use Portuguese and seize opportunities locally and abroad.
What area does your company focus on?
Created in 2012, Charlestrong Engineering Technology was the first Macau company to make investments in Mozambique – in the real estate sector. In 2014 we signed a contract with the country’s government’s housing bureau for the second phase of construction of the Olympic Village, a 240-apartment complex in Maputo for middle and lower-income Mozambique residents.
Our company is 100 per cent from Macau, with local investment and capital, but we have a good advantage because we have Mainland China partners.
Does your knowledge of the Portuguese-language give you an advantage in this business?
Macau is really a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. It’s our great advantage. As a Chinese, the language is a weapon for me to develop my career in the Lusophone market. I’m Chinese but when dealing with people in Mozambique we have no differences because we speak the same language, have the same culture, drink the same wines and watch the same football matches.
That makes it so much easier in a country that is on a different continent. During my time at Forum Macao I had the chance to get to know many Portuguese-speaking countries, which opened my horizons as a Macanese [in] knowing the world. That’s why I decided to focus on this market, especially Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola and Portugal.
How is Macau bridging the gap between China and Portuguese-speaking countries?
I think I’m the only Macau resident doing business in Mozambique, but I really want the future to bring more Macau residents, especially young generations, to invest in the country and do business there. The new generations have a bigger interest in Portuguese – my wife, who is Chinese, learned Portuguese for three years at IPOR and now she understands all my phone conversations!
I also discovered that a lot of Portuguese friends are coming to Macau for professional reasons, which is also something positive for the city. On the other hand we have to encourage young people that learning Portuguese can be so advantageous for them, which they sometimes can’t see.
The world needs Portuguese – and Macau needs it for its role as a platform, otherwise it won’t be different from any other Chinese city.
This is not just a job for the government, but for the residents too, since anybody from the Portuguese culture is an ambassador for the Portuguese language. Promoting the Portuguese language is, for me, an almost sacred mission in China and other countries.
What would you say are the best business opportunities in Mozambique?
Mozambique is a country with a lot of good opportunities for business – not just because its climate is good and it is indeed a beautiful country – but it is a civilised country that needs a lot of investment in infrastructure. Construction projects for my company are always the entry point to the country, since the local population has big housing demands. The country has almost 25 million inhabitants, but only 7 million have houses, so the market is huge.
As quality of life there improves the population also try to improve their living conditions, especially in the capital – Maputo – or in Beira [the second largest city]. It’s a great opportunity for Macau construction companies.
You also studied investment in East Timor. What would you say are the business opportunities there?
The construction sector is in need of investment but there are also opportunities in the energy sector and infrastructure area. As a young country it needs almost everything and it is closer to Macau with almost no time difference and a big Chinese community. The cultural ties with Macau are also a good reason for local businessman to do business there.
How about Brazil, the biggest Portuguese-speaking market in the world?
We tried to enter Brazil, but haven’t initiated our project yet. It’s a country that needs a lot of preparation before entering its market because competition is plentiful. It already has a huge Chinese and Portuguese community so it is a great market for us but to enter you need to do a lot of homework.
How about Portugal?
I really love Portugal and I think most Macau residents do too. It’s a beautiful country and is now full of investment opportunities in real estate and wine. Our company also has an investment plan for Portuguese red wines and I personally love to promote Portuguese wines everywhere I go, especially in China. More and more Chinese are starting to appreciate Portuguese wine for its good quality/price ratio and we’ve tried to organise tours for Chinese investors to go to wineries in Portugal. I would also advise that the tourism sector is also a great investment opportunity in Portugal.
What are the challenges for investing in African countries?
I believe the language is one of the biggest obstacles. For me it is not a problem, but a team can’t be just one player – one Ronaldo – it needs to have more people with knowledge of Portuguese to be a true team and win the game.
Financing is also an issue, investing in Lusophone countries has a certain amount of risk so we need good financing channels for these countries. However a lot of local banks – when we talk about a project in Portuguese-speaking countries – immediately close the door. Sometimes they don’t even want to hear what the project is. If we say Mozambique many people don’t know where it is or they just think [that] because it’s in Africa it must be poor and underdeveloped.
I can understand that, from a commercial point of view, these markets are deemed too risky, but if Macau wants to be a platform we need a special mechanism to help finance these kind of projects. We need a new vision open to the world.
What about private investors?
I’ve contacted some local investors who want to know these countries, and I’ve taken them on trips to Guinea-Bissau, East Timor and Mozambique. Seeing local investors taking the step to get out of Macau and get to know these countries was very positive. Visits to explore the market prior to investing are very important: so that you can get to know the investment areas and the opportunities to bet on. You can’t just get onto a plane with a case of money and expect to make immediate profits in one or two months and then come back to Macau. Preparation, patience and a good team are key.
Has the Macau government supported your business attempts?
Yes, it has. Especially in the area relating to Portuguese-speaking countries. The Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) has always given a lot of support and consultation. The contract we signed for the Olympic Village was signed in the 10th Meeting for Portuguese-speaking businessman in Maputo, with the presence of IPIM and Forum Macao representatives. We also participate in the Macao International Trade & Investment Fair (MIF) and other events with government support.
Do you think there should be more trade fairs and expos in Macau?
I think we already have a lot, with some good results. For example – the contract for public housing in Mozambique was signed at last year’s International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum in Macau and in this year’s Forum we signed the contract with our Mainland China construction materials supplier.
There can always be more events but there are already a good number of them. What we can improve is to invite more private sector representatives from Lusophone countries to attend the events and help them in doing business matching.
What is the hardest part of doing business in the SAR?
Macau is still an expensive city: for human resources and rent. In my area, construction, it is not easy to find a bilingual employee. We recently signed an agreement with the Polytechnic Institute of the Portuguese city of Leiria in order to receive Portuguese students with Chinese skills to intern for six months in our company in Mozambique, with a potential contract offer at the end.
Macau has a lot of translation or Portuguese-language students but for the majority their goal is to work for the government, and if they don’t achieve that goal they jump to another area of work. We need to encourage them to go to the private sector and not waste their language knowledge, since the government has limited job offers for translators.
What would you change?
I think changes need to be made to regulations regarding the hiring of skilled foreign workers. We’re encouraging Macau young people to work abroad and gain experience but we need to put the same effort into attracting specialised workers from other countries to work here.