Secretary for Economy and Finance visits local associations to gather opinions for 2027 Policy Address

MACAU, October 5 - The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Ms Ng Wai Han, recently led senior officials from several departments under her policy portfolio on a series of visits to local associations. The visits were aimed at gathering opinions and suggestions regarding the formulation of the 2027 Policy Address for the economy and finance portfolio.

The associations visited by Ms Ng included: the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau; the Macao Chamber of Commerce; the Macao Federation of Trade Unions; the Women's General Association of Macau; the Macao Youth Federation; the Macau Economic and Livelihood Alliance; the Macao Institution of People’s Alliance; the Association of Returned Overseas Chinese Macau; and the Industrial Association of Macau.

During the meetings, representatives from the visited organisations engaged proactively with the Government officials, putting forward numerous suggestions on policy directions. These included: optimising Macao’s business environment; revitalising the local economy; developing silver bonds aimed at providing low-risk investment options for senior citizens; and enhancing labour-management relations. Other suggestions covered: promoting youth employment and career development; defining part-time working arrangements; expanding the range of sectors eligible for the Community Spending Rewards Scheme; and introducing products from Portuguese-speaking countries into local communities. Additionally raised were proposals for: developing talent programmes to support appropriate economic diversification; broadening the scope of the Industrial and Commercial Development Fund; deepening coordinated economic development between Macao and Hengqin; and promoting the alignment and mutual recognition of procurement rules between Macao and Hengqin.

Other topics covered included: making effective use of venues for business and exhibition events; cultivating talent for the convention and exhibition sector; encouraging industry participation in the Four Major Projects previously announced by the Government; creating employment opportunities through urban renewal; and prioritising labour requirements for urban renewal. Additionally discussed were: enhancing the standard of economic governance; promoting the integrated development of the public sector and the business sector; deepening external economic and trade relations; advancing measures to support dual-income families; and strengthening the promotion of Macao as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

Secretary Ng thanked the associations for their continued interest in, and support for, policy initiatives regarding the economy and finance portfolio. She said her team would thoroughly study and analyse the views and suggestions gathered from the meetings, adding that they would serve as an important reference in formulating policies.

She noted that this year marks the start of the implementation of the Third Five-Year Plan of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR), which sets out a clear road map for Macao’s economic and social development over the coming years. The plan establishes clear objectives and specific tasks regarding the “1+4” development strategy for appropriate economic diversification; the city’s talent requirements; people’s well-being; and the construction of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. Work on all these fronts is being carefully organised and is moving forward.

Next year will mark a crucial juncture in the full implementation of Macao’s Third Five-Year Plan, with a number of initiatives due to be rolled out. It is hoped that substantial progress will be made, and that results will gradually become visible.

The policy agenda for 2027 not only represents a continuation and deepening of the overall policy direction of the current-term MSAR Government, but is also key to the coordinated advancement of all implementation tasks under the Third Five-Year Plan.

Ms Ng noted that policy initiatives under the economy and finance portfolio are central to socioeconomic development, and are closely linked to people’s livelihoods. Continuously improving the business environment, supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting appropriate economic diversification, and safeguarding residents’ employment are all crucial policy priorities, and the economy and finance team will spare no effort in carrying out this work.

At the same time, she and her team will continue to engage in dialogue with all sectors of society, listening attentively and gathering a wide range of views and suggestions on matters regarding the economy and finance portfolio, while taking public sentiment into account, in order continually to improve governance.

Also present for the meetings were the Chief of Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Lo Chi Fai, and senior officials from the Economic and Technological Development Bureau, the Macao Government Tourism Office, the Financial Services Bureau, the Labour Affairs Bureau, the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute, the Monetary Authority of Macao, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, and the Statistics and Census Service. Additionally present were advisors from the Office of the Secretary.

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