MACAO, June 12 (Xinhua) -- With the policy support from China's central government, Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) can further expand its mission to be a regional and international cooperative operator, keeping its title of the "gateway into China", said Florinda Chan, the SAR's secretary for administration and justice, at an international forum held here on Friday.

    Chan made the remark when addressing a global business forum jointly organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA).

    The government of Macao SAR pledges to maintain Macao's role of a regional and international hub, of which the business markets have long maintained beneficial relations reaching far and wide into the partnership with the Chinese mainland, South-East Asia, the Portuguese speaking countries, the European Union, as well as numerous international organizations, Chan said.

    In time of the global economic retraction, the SAR Government's policy focuses on the diversification and sustainability for local business sector, and "we favor tourism, entertainment, and exhibition industries to lead as the economic pillars for the SAR," she also said.

    As for investments from India, Chan said through the service platform offered by the Macao SAR either in a direct or indirect channel, India can easily find many unexploited markets into the Chinese mainland, such as the trading for the small and medium businesses sector, as well as the share of IT technology and its based services.

    Macao, an island city neighboring Hong Kong, is the only place in China where gambling is legal, and its economy heavily depends on its gaming sector which contributes more than 70 percent of the SAR government's total income through direct and indirect gaming taxes.