"Macao welcomes more American companies to explore investment opportunities," said Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Tuesday.

Attending the Asia Pacific Council of the American Chambers of Commerce's reception, Ho said that as a gateway for foreign companies to get access to the mainland markets, Macao is particularly an ideal place for setting up cost-effective regional operations.

Ho welcomed American businessmen to enjoy their time in Macao by experiencing its unique cultural diversity and at the same time exploring vast business opportunities.

He said that the United States has been one of the most important trading partners of Macao. Bilateral trade amounted to 1.5 billion US dollars in 2004, representing an annual growth of about 8.3 percent.

Ho said that the Pearl River Delta has become the brightest spot of development in China. Macao's role as the regional trade platform has been further underlined with the implementation of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement as well as last year's initiation of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation.

The United States is currently the biggest merchandise exports market for Macao. A large amount of American investment is flowing to Macao's gaming industry.