An official delegation led by the Chief Executive of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Ho Hau Wah, will participate in the upcoming Expo Central China 2009 and Forum on Thousands Investors Going West, the SAR government announced on Friday.

Ho and the delegation will leave for Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, on April 25 to attend the opening ceremony of the expo, which will open in Hefei on Sunday, according to a press statement from the SAR government's Information Bureau.

Co-organized by China's Ministry of Commerce, and a number of state departments and provincial governments, the expo is aimed to accelerate the restructuring and upgrading of the industries in central China and to promote trade and development.

The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute has organized about 60 local businessmen to attend the event and promote their products and brands in the central China market.

The organizers will set up special exhibition areas for Hong Kong and Macao exhibitors in a bid to boost trade between provinces in central China, and the two SARs.

SAR's Secretary for Administration and Justice Florinda Chan will be Acting Chief Executive until Ho returns on Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2009)