The “2024 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition” (2024MIECF) held the Green Forum: “Green Business Co-operation Day – Session 1” on the afternoon of the event’s first day (28 March). This session, comprising two panel discussions, was co-organised by the Greater Bay Area Green Finance Alliance and the Macau Association of Banks for the first time since it was held with well-known international accounting firms in the past two years. It gathered over ten experts and industry leaders from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Portuguese-speaking countries and Southeast Asian countries to probe into topics about how finance, tourism, high technology, exhibition and trade industries, namely the “1+4” key industries, incorporate ESG (environmental, social and governance) in their development. Participating guests said that setting up green and low-carbon reduction standards is beneficial for fostering the development of the “1+4” industries and achieving green, high-quality and sustainable economic development through ESG investment.
Session 1 of the Green Forum is themed “New Business Opportunities in ESG – Building a Circular Economy Ecosystem”. Co-hosted by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers, this session attracted around 300 participants.
Speakers call for concerted efforts in the green, high-quality and sustainable development of “1+4” industries
Vincent U, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), noted in his speech that the Green Business Co-operation Day was one of the major activities of MIECF, and this edition has gathered guests from major banks, financial institutions, large enterprises, integrated leisure enterprises, as well as chambers of commerce in GBA, Southeast Asia, Europe, greatly enhancing the professionalism and attractiveness of MIECF. He stated that Macao-Hengqin Synergy would reach a new stage after implementing “tier-specific” management in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Co-operation Zone in Hengqin. He said that in the future, IPIM would continue to strengthen the MICE co-operation with the Co-operation Zone under the “multi-venue event” model and foster the in-depth integration of passenger, capital and information flows, and with these measures as entry points, Macao could further explore the GBA market and deepen regional co-operation in various industries.
In his speech, Bernard Li, PwC Macau Office Lead Partner, pointed out that the core concept of circular economy was to optimise the use of resources and the production process to the greatest extent in a bid to minimise waste and achieve a more efficient resource cycle, which required co-operation and innovation among different industries from product design, production process to the recycle and reuse of resources. He believed that through cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing, the development of a circular economy in Macao and the region as a whole could be achieved. He added that in the future, PwC would continue to support green and low-carbon innovation and join hands with partners from all walks of life to explore the unlimited potential of green business opportunities.
Ip Sio Kai, Rotating President of the GBA Green Finance Alliance and Chairman of the Macau Association of Banks (ABM), said that the financial sector has actively co-operated with the Macao SAR government in its efforts to promote the development of modern finance, and has constantly scaled up financial support to green and low-carbon transformation. As of the end of February 2024, green bonds listed in Macao amounted to MOP 108.835 billion, marking a sharp increase of 38.47% year on year. In addition, to enlarge regional co-operation on green finance, he revealed that the ABM would establish the “Green Finance Connectivity Working Group between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries”, which would help the GBA, Portuguese-speaking countries and even the European Union to conduct wider exchanges in terms of green finance, so as to help Mainland China effectively align with international green finance standards and regulations.
Panel discussions focusing on the development of green transformation and circular economy
The session includes two panel discussions. In panel discussion 1, industry experts from financial institutions, commerce and trade associations, low-carbon development organisations and the sustainable digital technology industry were invited to share their insights on “Finance Facilitates New Opportunities For Green And Low-Carbon Transition”. In panel discussion 2, representatives from high technology, environmental protection and integrated tourism and leisure industries exchanged opinions on “Cross-Industry Collaboration for Circular Economic Development”. These panel discussions seek to provide the participants with an exchange platform for business opportunities and help “1+4” key industries seize the new business opportunities in ESG.
Regarding green finance, a guest suggested setting up unified standards and systems for effective convergence with the world. He pointed out that as a platform connecting to the world, Macao could leverage its role in bringing China, Portuguese-speaking countries, and even Europe together and that it would have great potential in promoting green transformation. He also shared the results of the transformation and development of green finance within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and stated that a high-standard, green and low-carbon evaluation system could foster the development of the “1+4” key industries in a positive way.
Also, a number of guests from Portuguese-speaking countries and Southeast Asian countries cited actual cases from their countries and regions to discuss how to reduce carbon footprint and strike balanced development for the ecological environment, as well as how to transition from waste management to a circular economy, providing international perspectives for green exchange and co-operation across sectors and regions.
