The 59^th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) meeting was held in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan from 22 to 23 May 2025. The Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) attended the meeting representing Macao, China as a guest economy.

This meeting focused on the 2025 APEC priorities, with participating members discussing, among other topics, improving entrepreneurship and business environment of small and medium enterprises (SMEs); digitalization; scale-up, innovation, and growth through access to finance; green transformation; and strengthening micro and SMEs through artificial intelligence. The meeting aimed to promote sustainable development of SMEs in the global economy through exchanges and cooperation among Asia-Pacific economies.

The DSEDT’s Head of Economic Cooperation Division, Ms. Chan Hoi Si, gave a presentation at the meeting on the efforts of the SAR Government in promoting digitalization of SMEs. Since 2021, the SAR Government has rolled out several phases of digitalization support measures targeting the food and beverage sector and SMEs, with a focus on promoting application of electronic payment platforms and other digital tools to assist upgrade and transformation of traditional SMEs. In 2025, the SME Digitalization Support Services will continue to be implemented to provide businesses with digitalization training, business diagnostics and free solutions with a view to enhancing the operational efficiencies, improving the business processes and strengthening the business competitiveness of SMEs through artificial intelligence.

During the meeting, representatives from economies discussed the challenges and opportunities faced by SMEs and shared their experiences and best practices. The DSEDT will continue to actively participate in relevant APEC activities to strengthen ties and cooperation with other economies and jointly promote the development of SMEs in the Asia-Pacific region.