The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, today said his eight-day official visit covering three Southeast Asian countries aims at promoting the development opportunities available during the period of the Third Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Macao Special Administrative Region (2026-2030); attracting more international resources to Macao and Hengqin; and fostering shared opportunities and mutual development.
Mr Sam made the remarks at Macau International Airport ahead of his departure for the official visit covering Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The delegation comprises officials of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government and entrepreneurs.
Mr Sam stated that this trip represents another key step in the MSAR Government’s strategy of “Go North, Down South, Move West, Navigate East”, enhancing Macao’s role for internal and external connections.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Sam noted that – following his April visit to four European countries and several international organisations – this latest journey marked his second time leading a delegation of governmental and business representatives. The visit aimed to implement the “Down South” initiative and further to strengthen Macao’s cooperation with the Southeast Asian nations. The visit seeks to leverage Macao’s unique advantage of internal and external connections, particularly capitalising the immense market potential of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, with a view to attract greater investment from Southeast Asian enterprises into Macao and Hengqin.
Meanwhile, the visit servers to consolidate Macao’s strategic positioning as an important bridgehead for the country’s high-level opening-up, and to ensure Macao better integrating into, and serve, the country’s overall development.
The Chief Executive noted that the Southeast Asian countries concerned are near to Macao, and have cultural affinities with it. These countries also have strong economic links and regular people-to-people exchanges with Macao. Five of Macao’s top 10 source markets for international visitors are places in Southeast Asia. At the same time, Macao enjoys solid bilateral trade and investment relations with the three countries concerned. Given these foundations, Macao is well positioned to deepen cooperation with Southeast Asia. This is one of the main reasons the current-term MSAR Government has chosen Southeast Asia for its second overseas mission.
During the visit, the MSAR Government will highlight Macao’s achievements stemming from the successful implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle, helping Southeast Asian partners better understand the system’s institutional strengths and enduring vitality.
The MSAR Government will also actively promote the development opportunities arising from Macao-Hengqin integration, aiming to attract a greater number of foreign enterprises to invest and establish operations locally. The MSAR Government will also promote Macao’s position as a world centre of tourism and leisure , and actively expand Macao’s international visitor markets.
The Chief Executive stressed that 2026 marked the inaugural year of both the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan, and the Third Five-Year Plan of the MSAR. Over the next five years, the MSAR Government will advance appropriate economic diversification through four major flagship projects. In this context, the MSAR Government will actively introduce to Southeast Asian partners the key elements of Macao’s Third Five-Year Plan, with the aim of jointly seizing new development opportunities.
Supporting local enterprises in exploring overseas business opportunities and assisting the nation in deepening external economic and trade cooperation are also key objectives of the visit, Mr Sam said.
Building on the success of the previous “joint voyage” model for government-business collaboration, the current-term MSAR Government has once again organised a business delegation of around 120 representatives, bringing together enterprises from Macao, Hengqin, and other cities of the Chinese mainland. Through investment and tourism roadshows, high-level meetings, and onsite exchanges, the delegation will jointly explore the vast markets of Southeast Asia.
According to the current itinerary, the Chief Executive will meet with Singapore’s Prime Minister and Minister for Finance; its Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry; and its Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health. In Jakarta, Indonesia, Mr Sam will meet with Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs; and the country’s Minister of Tourism, and will also call on the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mr Sam will meet with Malaysia’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, as well as senior officials from the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry. In addition, Mr Sam plans to engage with local overseas-Chinese community leaders and chamber of commerce representatives to discuss future collaboration.
