The central government is studying the possibility of establishing a Macau stock exchange in nearby Hengqin of Guangdong province to facilitate the economic diversification of the city, Mainland Chinese media reported.
This remark was made in a recent reply to an enquiry of members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) by the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, a number of Mainland media outlets, including state-owned The Paper, reported on Friday.
The nation’s top economic planner noted in the reply that Hengqin has “unique advantages” for the Guangdong-Macau collaboration due to its vicinity to the city.
“[Various departments of the central government] are studying the possibility of setting up the Macau Stock Exchange in Hengqin, which could support Macau to develop its ‘characteristic financial industry’ in tandem with its own demands, expedite the appropriate economic diversifications of Macau, and support the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area,” the national development commission noted.
The commission also said Macau is now collaborating with Guangdong to set up a demonstration zone of cross-border financial cooperation between the two sides in Hengqin, where over 5,000 financial firms have registered and more than 10 Macau financial institutions have set up representative offices.
The Outline for the Development Plan of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, published by the Chinese State Council in February 2019, first mentioned Macau should study the possibilities of setting up a yuan-denominated equity exchange.
The Macau authorities have since then said they are studying the matter and have emphasised the development of the financial industry here to reduce the reliance on the gaming industry.
