The government announced yesterday that it has requested the Legislative Assembly (AL) remove from the agenda for tomorrow’s plenary session the discussion on the outline of its controversial bill which proposed the transfer of 60 billion patacas from the government’s financial reserves for the setting-up of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Investment and Development Fund.

The bill was to amend the government’s 2019 budget so that the government could allocate the 60 billion patacas from its financial reserves and use the amount as the fund’s start-up capital.

The government also said that it now plans to consult the public first about the setting up of the fund – the local version of a sovereign wealth fund – before going ahead with the matter.

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On made the announcement during a hastily-convened press conference at Government Headquarters yesterday evening.

Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac, Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) President Benjamin Chan Sau San, and Victor Chan Chi Ping, the government’s chief spokesman, attended the press conference which was chaired by Chui.

The Executive Council – the government’s top advisory body – announced late last month that the government planned to set up the MSAR Investment and Development Fund with a proposed capital of 60 billion patacas and that it would submit to the legislature the bill amending its 2019 budget so that it could go ahead with the 60 billion pataca injection. The discussion of the bill’s outline was initially on the agenda for tomorrow’s plenary session.

11 pct of total reserves
The amendment bill proposed that the 60 billion patacas be taken from the “extraordinary” reserves of the government’s financial reserves for the establishment of a company tasked with managing the fund – Macau Investment and Development Fund Management Limited. The 60-billion-pataca fund would have accounted for about 11 percent of Macau’s total reserves, according to official statistics.

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On (centre) speaks during yesterday’s press conference at Government Headquarters about the government’s decision to remove its bill on the proposed setting-up of the 60-billion-pataca Macau Investment and Development Fund from the legislature’s agenda tomorrow, as Secretary for Administration and Justice Sónia Chan Hoi Fan (second from left), Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac (second from right), Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) President Benjamin Chan Sau San (first from left) and Victor Chan Chi Ping, the government’s chief spokesman, look on. Photo: Tony Wong

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