Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip said yesterday that he will coordinate and lead the government’s ongoing project on the revitalisation of six historic areas in collaboration with the city’s six gaming operators, which was launched in 2023, with the respective public entities under the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture to be committed to providing all necessary support and assistance, adding that the government will soon convene a joint meeting with the six gaming operators to review the results of their respective revitalisation projects since their launch.
The policy secretary also said that the government now aims for the revitalisation projects for the six historic areas to be converted into “community-based commercial circles”.
Tai made the remarks during yesterday’s one-day Q&A session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle about his portfolio’s policy guidelines for this year.
The government launched its project on revitalising six historic areas in 2023, with each of the city’s six gaming operators to invest in and carry out one of the six revitalisation projects and the government to plan, coordinate and oversee their operations. The government was then headed by chief executive Ho Iat Seng.
Since their gradual launch in the second half of 2023, the government’s role in planning and coordinating the six revitalisation projects has been carried out by the public entities within the portfolio of the Secretariat for Social affairs and Culture.
The current government headed by Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai took office on December 20 last year.
The government’s initiative to revitalise the six historic areas aims to diversify Macau’s tourism and leisure industry while strengthening its support for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by leveraging its requirements for the city’s six gaming operators to invest in non-gaming attractions.
The six projects to revitalise historic areas comprise four in the peninsula, one in Taipa and one in Coloane. The six revitalised areas include various subareas featuring different historic and cultural characteristics, such as the Barra area, the pedestrianisation of Rua da Felicidade, the Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro area, the area around the Ponte 16 casino-hotel in the Inner Harbour district, the Rua das Estalagens area, the Mount Fortress area, as well as Taipa’s erstwhile Iec Long Firecracker Factory and Coloane’s Lai Chi Vun Shipyards.
Coordinated and overseen by the government, the six gaming operators have respectively been implementing the revitalisation of the different subareas covered by the six main historic areas.
Tai said during yesterday’s Q&A session that his portfolio will now lead the government’s project on advancing the revitalisation of the six historic areas with the aim of optimising their respective business environments.
Tai said that the current government has decided that the revitalisation of the six historic areas will now be led and coordinated by him, with the respective public entities under his portfolio – the Secretariat for Economy and Finance – to be tasked with advancing and ensuring the implementation of the six revitalisation projects, while the respective public entities under the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture will now be tasked with providing all necessary support and assistance.
Tai said that the government’s cross-departmental working group for overseeing the revitalisation projects, now led by him with support and assistance provided by the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture, will soon convene a joint meeting with the six gaming operators to review and assess the results and achievements in the six revitalisation projects since their launch over a year ago.
Moreover, Tai said, the revitalisation of the six historic areas will now be carried out with the aim of also converting them into “community-based commercial circles”.
“Community-based commercial circles” are part of the mainland’s current urban development concept, referring to a localised, service-orientated business ecosystem designed to meet various daily needs of residents within a specific residential area.
Tai said that the government will also leverage the unique cultural and historic elements of the respective historic areas with the aim of motivating community associations to strengthen their participation in revitalising their respective areas.
Tai said that the six revitalised areas’ community-based commercial circles aim to attract more residents and visitors alike to spend money and have fun there.
Govt aims for e-MOP as transaction currency b/w China & Portuguese-speaking countries
Meanwhile, Tai also underlined during yesterday’s Q&A session that the government is aiming to complete the development and setting-up of the core system for the issuance of digital patacas by the end of this year.
The government announced last year that it had launched the research and development of its digital pataca issuance.
The digital pataca is officially known as e-MOP.
Late last year, the government completed the setting-up of the prototype of its digital pataca development project and published a white paper on e-MOP, providing details on its e-MOP project, such as the concepts of central bank digital currency (CBDC) as well as the e-MOP’s objectives, potential benefits, positioning, design principles, technical features, and development blueprint.
The pataca is Macau’s sole legal tender.
The future e-MOP will also be Macau’s legal tender, the same as physical money, with zero credit risks.
Tai also said yesterday that considering the advantage of patacas created by its status as a free-flow currency, the local government is aiming for the future e-MOP to be used as one of the transaction currencies for trade ties between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
Tai noted that trade in goods between China and Portuguese-speaking countries amounted to around US$220 billion in 2023, adding that in addition to being used for local retail consumption in the future, there will be potential for the e-MOP to be used as a transaction currency for trade relations between the two sides.
Tai said that during his working visit to Portugal earlier this year, he discussed with its central bank the feasibility of using the e-MOP in trade ties between China and Portugal, adding that in the future he will also pay working visits to the central banks in other Portuguese-speaking countries asking them to back the initiative.
During yesterday’s plenary session, Tai also said that while Macau’s economy is facing various challenges due to factors such as the ongoing slowdown in its post-pandemic economic recovery and global economic uncertainties, the city’s economic development enjoys opportunities and other favourable conditions thanks to the nation’s strong backing and support as well as its economy’s solid foundation, strong resilience and great potential in the long term.
Tai also said that the development of Macau’s high-tech industry will place stronger emphasis on integrated circuit design, digital technology, aerospace technology, and biomedicine.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip addresses yesterday’s Q&A session about his portfolio’s 2025 policy guidelines in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle. – Photo courtesy of TDM
