"You can see more efforts have actually been put in to encourage, to promote and to get people to be in Hengqin and to see the benefit of Hengqin," said Abu Bakar Mohd Nor, the Chairman of Small & Medium Enterprises under Enterprise Singapore (SMEC), when participating in the 2023 Hengqin Global Investment Promotion Conference on May 9.

Serving as a platform to showcase the business environment of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin in a push to draw global investment, the conference has attracted over 400 participants from 38 countries and regions, including France, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Australia.

In the conference, PwC, KPMG, Zhuhai Da Heng Qin Development Co., Ltd., and Hengqin Financial Industry Association were nominated as the "Global Investment Partners" of the zone. Meanwhile, Abu Bakar Mohd Nor,the Chairman of SMEC, Zhao Xiaohong, China Management Committee Executive Partner of King & Wood Mallesons and Gong Bin, the President of Zhuhai Academy for Advanced Integrated Circuit were nominated as "Global Investment Ambassadors" of the zone.

Both of the "Global Investment Partners" and the "Global Investment Ambassadors" are responsible for introducing the policy advantages and business environment of the zone to the world, so as to attract more investment from both domestic and overseas companies.

"I am very honored to be a part of this effort to develop Hengqin on the global stage," Abu Bakar Mohd Nor said, noting that as a part of the Greater Bay Area, Hengqin enjoys an advantageous geographical locality since it is adjacent to Macao SAR, so the companies can make full use of the market of Macao.

"I think you're building the right infrastructure," said Antonio Almeida, the CFO of Hovione, when asked about his impression of Hengqin. Hovione is a Portugal-based contract development and manufacturing company dedicated to helping pharmaceutical customers bring new and off-patent drugs to market.

"We've been in Macao for 40 years. So whenever there's a development, we look forward to it, and we explore all the opportunities it presents," Almeida said, adding that it was his first time visiting Hengqin, and that the favourable industrial foundation and market opportunities also attracted him.

Abu Bakar Mohd Nor, the Chairman of SMEC accepted the interview on May 9

In the near future, SkyeChip Sdn. Bhd, a Malaysia-based design company, plans to set up a subsidiary company in China. According to Ooi Ching Liang, its director of engineering (digital design), they’ve learned from the delegation of the zone that Hengqin is an ideal place. He hope that he could know more about the preferential policies and development prospect of the sci-tech industries in the zone during this visit so as to have further cooperation with the zone.

That afternoon, the guests were invited to visit local industry bases, such as the Exhibition Hall of Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Co-operation between Guangdong and Macao, and the Rowing Park.

On the eve of the conference, a gala dinner was served to the guests, together with Macao's folk dances and Lingnan folk music.