A loan worth more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.45 billion) granted by China to a Portuguese-speaking country was processed in Macau in 2018, the Secretary for Economy and Finance said on Thursday.

Leong Vai Tac pointed out that certain types of loans granted to Portuguese-speaking countries were processed in Macau following the signing of various agreements between the territorial government and the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

The secretary said that this is a trend that will continue and the fact that there have been more meetings of the banking and financial sectors in Macau, as well as the gradual completion of local infrastructure, contributes not only to greater performance of the role of financial services platform between China and those countries, as well as the RMB Settlement Centre for Portuguese Speaking Countries.

Leong gave assurances that Macau is committed to the development of the financial sector with its own characteristics, as well as to encourage the Portuguese-speaking countries to carry out financial and loan transactions in Macau. He added that, in comparison to food trade, investment, financial activities and the issuance of bonds, among other activities, will promote a greater amount of settlement in Chinese currency.

The secretary also pointed out that the Macau government had invested US$400 million in the China-Portuguese Speaking Countries Cooperation and Development Fund, with the remaining US$600 million funded by the China Development Bank.

He also said that, following the transfer of the Fund’s headquarters to Macau, the government had reduced the requirements for project approvals and altered the Fund’s focus on investment projects of companies from mainland China and Macau in Portuguese-speaking countries, with a greater incentive for mutual investment.

“The reason for this change is due to national development entering a new phase, thus attracting more companies from the Portuguese-speaking countries interested in the Chinese market,” he said. (Macauhub)