The Macau government announced yesterday that a satellite television company named “Silk Road Satellite Television Holding Ltd.” has been granted a licence to provide satellite television broadcasting services in Macau.
The announcement was made through an executive order by Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai published in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday. The order, which was signed by Sam on August 22, will take effect today.
The licensee must commence services within a year from the date of issuance of the licence which is valid for 15 years.
This company, according to the announcement, with Lao Ngai Leong serving as chairman of the board, has outlined a comprehensive development plan involving a total investment of 620 million patacas over 15 years, according to the announcement. The company plans to employ 239 staff globally, with an initial recruitment of 30 local employees in the first year.
Lao, 68, a descendant of overseas Chinese from Indonesia, is a veteran National People’s Congress (NPC) deputy from Macau.
Subsequent hiring will prioritise local talent, aiming to reach a local employee ratio of over 70 percent after 15 years, the announcement said.
According to the announcement, the company leveraging the network of 118 member units of the Belt and Road News Network (BRNN), Silk Road Satellite TV will establish its headquarters in Macau operating satellite television, internet TV, mobile TV, and multilingual new media platforms for domestic and international audiences.
The channel, the announcement said, is scheduled to be launched within 60 days after obtaining the licence, with content primarily focused on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including news programmes, documentaries, interviews, and corporate promotional videos. The signal will be freely accessible to local users and will also cover over 100 countries and regions globally, particularly those along the Belt and Road (B&R) network. The audience is projected to reach 60 million by next year, the announcement said.
This April 11, 2019 file photo of local National People’s Congress (NPC) deputy Lao Ngai Leong talking to the media on the sidelines of an event at the University of Macau (UM) on its Hengqin campus. – Photo: Edwin Yang/MPD
