Local SME Suppliers Attend Sands China’s SME Open Day
Participants explore procurement opportunities with Sands China
(Macao, April 10, 2019) –
Sands China Ltd. held a
Local SME Supplier Open Day Wednesday
at Sands® Cotai Central, aimed at
providing procurement opportunities for
prospective local SME
suppliers.
The event was an initiative of Sands
China’s Local Small, Medium and Micro
Suppliers Support Programme and its
F.I.T. initiative (Financial
Support, Invitational Matching, and
Training and Development) for local
SME
suppliers.
Co-organised with the Macao Chamber of
Commerce, the SME Open Day focused on the
three types of local businesses targeted by
the programme: local small, medium and
micro suppliers; “Made in Macao”
companies and Macao young
entrepreneurs.
“The Macao Chamber of Commerce has
always been committed to promoting
economic development and providing
services to its members,” said Chui Yuk
Lam, vice president of the board of
directors of the Macao Chamber of
Commerce. “In accordance with the Macao
SAR government’s initiative to support
SME development, Sands China was the
first integrated resort operator to
jointly launch an SME supplier programme
with us. Initiatives like their SME Open
Day help them explore more local
business opportunities amid a business
environment full of opportunities and
challenges.”
Wednesday’s Open Day provided procurement
information to prospective suppliers,
including information on Sands China’s
purchasing process, the supplier
registration process, purchase categories,
and other relevant information from Sands
China’s procurement
team.
It gave potential suppliers a chance to
connect with Sands China procurement
representatives and learn about procurement
opportunities in various departments.
Several categories of procurement booths
were set up: food and beverage; operational
supplies; facilities, furniture and
lighting; development and construction;
technology and gaming; marketing; and
outside services and logistics. A Sands
Procurement Academy booth let potential
suppliers enrol in its training programme,
which helps local SMEs prepare for working
with large international enterprises like
Sands
China.
Bank of China (BOC) and the Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) also had
booths at the event. As part of the
financial support element of the company’s
F.I.T. initiative, Sands China has been
communicating and working together with six
local banks to offer a special financing
programme to assist local SMEs: BOC, ICBC,
Bank of Communications (BOCOM), China
Construction Bank (CCB), OCBC Wing Hang, and
BNU.
In support of young entrepreneurs, Sands
China worked with the Macao Young
Entrepreneur Incubation Centre and the Macau
Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Cultivation Committee prior to SME Open Day
to invite Macao young entrepreneurs to the
event.
Dr. Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China
Ltd., said: “Sands China remains committed
to supporting local SME suppliers. Macao
young entrepreneurs are one of three types
of local suppliers that we target in our
local procurement efforts, and we were very
pleased to see so many young people among
them attending our SME Open Day. We will
continue to create procurement opportunities
for local SME suppliers, so that our success
and their success can go hand-in-hand – in
line with the Macao government’s initiative
to ‘buy
local.’”
Chad Forster, vice president of global
procurement for Las Vegas Sands Corp.,
attended Wednesday’s event, along with
Sridhar Kandhadai, vice president of
procurement and supply chain for Singapore’s
Marina Bay Sands, demonstrating the
company’s commitment to supporting local SME
suppliers.
Forster said: “It is my pleasure to be in
Macao and to support Sands China’s Local SME
Supplier Open Day. Looking to local
enterprises first when searching for
suppliers is our worldwide policy, and I’m
very pleased to see Sands China’s success in
local procurement. Our company is committed
to being a valuable partner, both for the
businesses we work with and the communities
where we
operate.”
Sands China’s total procurement spend in
2018 was approximately MOP 10.9 billion, 77
per cent of which was with local
suppliers.
In addition to Dr. Wong, Chui and Forster,
guests of honour at Wednesday’s event were
director of the Economic Services Bureau
(DSE) Tai Kin Ip; director general of the
Macau Productivity and Technology Centre
(CPTTM) Shuen Ka Hung; deputy director of
the Gaming Inspection and Coordination
Bureau (DICJ) Anthony Leong; director of the
Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison
Office of the Central People’s Government in
the Macao SAR Zhuo Xianghua; manager of the
business development services division of
the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion
Institute (IPIM) Sanna Leong; Kandhadai;
senior vice president and chief financial
officer of Sands China Ltd. Dave Sun; and
vice president of procurement and supply
chain for Venetian Macau Limited Charlie
Cai.
Sands China’s Local Small, Medium and Micro
Suppliers Support Programme is in line with
the Macao government’s initiative to “buy
local” and demonstrates Sands China’s
commitment to supporting local enterprises
as part of the company’s corporate social
responsibility efforts. It is part of Sands
China’s supplier relationship management
strategy, which guides the company’s
long-standing effort to support local
suppliers, whom it views as its strategic
partners.
Photo caption: Guests of
honour launch Sands China’s Local SME Supplier Open Day
Wednesday at Sands Cotai Central. Co-organised with the
Macao Chamber of Commerce, the event aimed at providing
procurement opportunities for prospective local SME
suppliers.
Left to right: Vice president of procurement
and supply chain for Singapore’s Marina Bay
Sands Sridhar Kandhadai; vice president of
global procurement for Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Chad Forster; director of the Economic
Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of
the Central People’s Government in the Macao
SAR Zhuo Xianghua; senior vice president and
chief financial officer of Sands China Ltd.
Dave Sun; director of the Economic Services
Bureau (DSE) Tai Kin Ip; president of Sands
China Ltd. Dr. Wilfred Wong; director
general of the Macau Productivity and
Technology Centre (CPTTM) Shuen Ka Hung;
deputy director of the Gaming Inspection and
Coordination Bureau (DICJ) Anthony Leong;
vice president of the board of directors of
the Macao Chamber of Commerce Chui Yuk Lam;
manager of the business development services
division of the Macao Trade and Investment
Promotion Institute (IPIM) Sanna Leong; and
vice president of procurement and supply
chain for Venetian Macau Limited Charlie
Cai.
Photo caption: President
of Sands China Ltd. Dr. Wilfred Wong (left), director of the
Economic Services Bureau (DSE) Tai Kin Ip (centre) and
director general of the Macau Productivity and Technology
Centre (CPTTM) Shuen Ka Hung (right), were among the guests
of honour attending Sands China’s Local SME Supplier Open
Day Wednesday at Sands Cotai Central. Co-organised with the
Macao Chamber of Commerce, the event aimed at providing
procurement opportunities for prospective local SME
suppliers.
Photo caption: Representatives
from local SMEs attend Sands China’s Local SME Supplier Open
Day Wednesday at Sands Cotai Central. Co-organised with the
Macao Chamber of Commerce, the event aimed at providing
procurement opportunities for prospective local SME
suppliers.