The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, today said Government work related to the potential establishment in Macao of a securities market denominated and cleared in renminbi, was supported on two major national initiatives relating to Macao.

The establishment of such a securities market was mentioned in the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation part of the Mainland and Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) signed in December 2017; and also in the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, published in February this year by the Central Government.

The Secretary noted that both documents suggested Macao should establish a securities market denominated and cleared in renminbi; develop itself as a ‘green finance’ platform; and position itself as a financial service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government was working toward achieving the vision for the city outlined in the two documents, while keeping in close contact with mainland authorities to advance relevant works, Mr Leong stated.

He added that the Macao SAR Government had not yet submitted any report to the Central Government on the issue of establishing a securities market in Macao.

The Macao SAR Government had previously commissioned international consultancy companies to study the feasibility of such a securities market. The studies were being conducted keeping in mind the idea of Macao “serving the country’s development needs, while delivering on its inherent strengths”, in addition to taking into consideration Macao’s needs, Mr Leong stressed.

He added that the feasibly studies should cover a number of additional topics related to the potential establishment in Macao of such a securities market, including: the role of already-developed financial centres in cities neighbouring Macao, and in other parts of the world; the existing legal framework’s ability to support the establishment of a securities market; training of specialised professionals; establishment of supervision mechanisms; and development of relevant supporting facilities.

Mr Leong noted that the sale and distribution of securities in Macao had evolved significantly in recent years, as part of efforts to push forward the local development of specialised financial services.