*By Therese Tu
The Executive Committee of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone Hengqin (GMICZ) announcement today (Thursday) that enterprises based in the cooperation zone can be eligible for a subsidy of up to RMB 5.5 million, when issuing corporate bonds in Macau.
Hengqin enterprises that have successfully issued eligible bonds in Macau with an issue amount of at least MOP 500 million can receive a subsidy of 0.8 per cent of the actual funds raised.
The subsidy is set to encourage enterprises in Hengqin to “effectively use” the Macau bond market for direct financing and reduce the cost of issuing corporate bonds in Macau.
The bonds will be registered and settled by the central securities depository system (CSD).
Launched earlier this month, CSD is a key financial mechanism for strengthening the integration of Macau’s financial market with overseas financial markets.
Meanwhile, Hengqin enterprises that issue green bonds in Macau will be provided with an additional RMB 500,000 of external review fee funds.
Law firms, accounting firms, credit rating agencies, and third-party review agencies for green bonds in Hengqin that provide services for enterprises in the GMICZ to issue bonds in Macau will also be entitled to a subsidy of 100,000 RMB each time.
The promulgation of these support measures aims to help attract more Hengqin enterprises to preferentially choose to issue bonds in Macau and therefore increase the vitality Macau’s bond market.
By giving rewards to intermediary agencies, authorities hopes to help the development of the “service ecology” of the SAR’s bond market and provide a foundation for the future development of the cooperation zone and Macau bond market.
The measures will be implemented on March 1, 2022, with a one-year validity.
