The government will streamline the organisational structure of the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM), reducing the number of members on its board of directors from five to three.
The number of departments will be reduced from eight to six. The streamlined structure will take effect in three weeks time.
Macau’s quasi-central bank is a bureau-level public entity.
Bureaus are the top-level administrative entities of the local government. While bureaus consist of departments, the latter consist of divisions. However, divisions performing the duties and functions of providing administrative or technical support are directly under a bureau – not its departments.
Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak, who is also the spokesman for the government’s top advisory body – the Executive Council, made the announcement during a press conference at Government Headquarters yesterday.
The mergers and restructuring of public entities are among the major initiatives under the local government’s current campaign to deepen public administration reform.
According to the current decree-law governing the AMCM’s organisational structure, the board of directors – the authority’s top management body –shall consist of three to five members, including a president.
During yesterday’s press conference, Wong said that the AMCM’s streamlined structure, which will take effect on October 22, aims to enhance its administrative efficiency while adhering to the principles of promoting Macau’s appropriate economic diversification and maintaining strict financial security oversight.
The authority’s restructuring will be formalised by government-drafted amendments to the current AMCM decree-law, which was promulgated in 1996.
Government-drafted administrative regulations, also known as by-laws, do not require the legislature’s approval.
Wong said that according to the amended organisational structure, the AMCM’s board will consist of three members, including a president – a change from the current structure, which comprises up to five members.
Wong noted that the AMCM currently comprises eight departments and 10 divisions. The restructured authority will comprise six departments and 12 divisions, he said.
The restructured authority’s six departments will be respectively tasked with currency issuance and reserve management, banking supervision, insurance supervision, securities supervision, financial development, and financial infrastructure.
In addition, Wong said, the regulations governing the AMCM’s audit committee and advisory council will also be amended.
Currently, the audit committee consists of three members from civil society appointed by the government. The advisory council – an AMCM consultative body – comprises all members of the board of directors, the president of the audit committee, and representatives from the city’s banking and insurance sectors appointed by the government.
During the press conference, AMCM President Simon Vong Sin Man said that while the number of members on the audit committee will remain unchanged at three, they will be formally subject to a three-year tenure for each appointment – a change from the current practice, where no fixed duration is stipulated.
According to Vong, the advisory council will add members from the securities sector.
Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak (right) and Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) President Simon Vong Sin Man address yesterday’s press conference at Government Headquarters. – Photo courtesy of TDM
