Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said yesterday that the local government is “striving” to hone its innovative technology system, optimise the environment for technological development, encourage innovative technology talent to work in Macau and promote the application of technology in the city, so as to upgrade and transform traditional industries.

According to Ho, advanced technology is a “crucial” factor in advocating the government’s “1+4” appropriate economic diversification strategy.

According to previous statements by the government, its “1+4” strategy refers to the development of Macau’s tourism and leisure industries but with additional focus on four new industries – big health, hi-tech, modern finance and conventions and exhibitions including culture and sports.

Making full use of the four State Key Laboratories in Macau, the government is consolidating its foundations in research and prompting the collaboration of research institutes and industry, Ho said, pointing out that in order to foster “the development of new technologies, new industries and new business ecosystems”, the government is also boosting the exploration, importation and cultivation of “distinguished” innovative technology projects, nurturing the incubation of technological projects.

Ho made the remarks in a speech during the opening ceremony of the BEYOND International Technology Innovation Expo 2023 yesterday at The Venetian Theatre in Cotai.

“We hope to take this [the expo] as an opportunity to leverage Macau’s advantages in injecting new impetus into sectors including MICE, technology, trade and others which will, in turn, invigorate the diversification of the local economy and industries”, aiming to deepen global enterprises’ understanding of Macau and the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Ho said.

As the world is undergoing “profound changes” unseen in a century, the technological revolution “is inevitable”, Ho said, Asian countries and regions should be “more open-minded” in their participation in technological exchanges and cooperation, so as to bolster sustainable development in Asia.

3-day BEYOND Expo kicks off at Venetian

Meanwhile, the three-day expo, organised by the Macau Technology General Association, is being held at The Venetian Convention and Exhibition Centre until tomorrow, with more than 1,000 exhibitors participating in the event, including Fortune Global 500 companies, large multinational enterprises, unicorn businesses, and new start-ups.

BEYOND Expo had been held on two previous occasions since 2020.

Jason Ho Kin Tung, the co-founder of the expo, said during yesterday’s kick-off ceremony he believed the annual expo would act as a “bridge” between Asian countries and elsewhere in the world, showcasing Asian technological innovation.

Focusing on sustainable development, bioscience and consumer technology, this year’s expo will explore the frontiers of technological innovation and industrial development, while also playing an important role in deepening Guangdong-Macau cooperation and building an international science and technology innovation centre in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), said Guangdong Governor Wang Weizhong, who noted in his speech during the ceremony that 402 Macau enterprises have been incubated in Hengqin, which, he said, has become the first choice for Macau youth to launch their business operations in the mainland.

National Committee of the China Association for Science and Technology President Wan Gang put forward three views in a speech at the ceremony, namely using technology as an empowering tool, entering the New Era with innovation, and creating the future through cooperation.

Wan’s three views are based on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era. 

Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng delivers a speech during yesterday’s opening ceremony of the three-day BEYOND International Technology Innovation Expo 2023, at The Venetian Theatre in Cotai. – Photo: MPDG