Portuguese Consul-General in Macao Paulo Cunha Alves has called for the Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry to keep helping Portuguese enterprises contribute to making the economy of Macao more diverse, the chamber says.

The chamber issued a written statement saying Mr Cunha Alves made the call at its annual dinner, held last week.

Mr Cunha Alves urged members to help develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone on Hengqin, a mainland Chinese island adjoining Macao.

The statement quotes the head of its Macao branch, Bernie Leong, as saying that despite the COVID-19 pandemic the chamber has expanded its network and laid the groundwork for business opportunities which he described as unprecedented.

The Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry was founded in 1978, and its Macao branch opened in 1992 to facilitate trade and other forms of Sino–Portuguese economic engagement, according to its statement.