MECC integrating its business vocation

Potential for expanding the offer of European-made products in the Macau SAR is matched with will from the Macau European Chamber of Commerce (MECC) to improve co-ordination with several chambers of commerce, according to Kevin Thomson, President of the MECC, and Ambrose So, its Honorary President.
Speaking to Business Daily during the event that marked the launching of the new MECC’s permanent office yesterday in NAPE, Mr. Thomson claimed that in addition to generating local demand for services such as translation, there are other “high quality” products from Europe, such as Ireland, and potential for the creative industries to become “increasingly significant” within the MSAR Government mandate of economic diversification.
“This year, we’ve seen an 11.3 per cent increase in EU imports into Macau. So I think even more countries could be encouraged, once we actually do all work in promoting Macau,” claimed MECC’s incumbent President.
Mr. So, in turn, explained to Business Daily that “with the help of these chambers, we may be open to having more choices and help the various companies that are interested in getting involved in the economic development of Macau.”
The new MECC facilities have been provided by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).
According to Mr. So, the fact that the MECC is now “conveniently located together with all other national chambers,” will enable the chamber of chambers to have “a more effective communication with all the other national chambers,” including the chambers of Portuguese-speaking countries.
Streamlining red tape
As for current initiatives for facilitating business, Thomson suggested that the MECC channel some of the knowledge and practices in use in the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, such as the “Blue Card directive.”
“We can actually act upon it, we can tailor-make them [initiatives] for Macau, but that’s for the future, that won’t be done overnight,” he told us.
Mr. So suggested that since the MSAR “has become very international after the liberalisation of gaming,” and considering the development of the city as “a world centre of tourism and leisure,” momentum has been built to “generate a lot of business opportunities for companies from Portuguese-speaking countries and Europe.”
Otherwise, said Mr. Thomson, “we have a small, but integrated team here, and it is very much a chamber of chambers, working across Macau, all the European chambers, and we are constituted.”