Anton Tai Kin Ip, who had served as the Macau Special Administrative Region’s (MSAR) secretary for economy and finance since December 20, 2024 until his sudden resignation on April 16 this year, has been appointed by the local government to local airport operator CAM’s board of directors.
The local government has also appointed Pun Weng Kun, the former president of the Sports Bureau (ID), to CAM’s board of directors.
The local government has appointed six members of CAM’s board of directors, through an executive order by Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai published in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday, for a three-year term effective from yesterday.
The six members appointed by Sam comprise 72-year-old Chui Sai Cheong, Zhang Yun, Simon Chan Weng Hong, Anton Tai Kin Ip, Pun Weng Kun, and Wu Keng Kuong, of whom Chui has been appointed as the board’s chairman, replacing 81-year-old Ma Iao Hang.
Among the six, Chan is the only member reappointed to the board of directors.
Chui is the former vice-president of the MSAR’s Legislative Assembly (AL), serving between October 16, 2017 and October 15 last year.
Among the six appointed to the board of directors, Zhang, Chan, Tai, and Pun have been appointed to CAM’s executive committee, of whom Zhang has been appointed as the executive committee’s chairman, replacing Chan.
Chan had headed the Macau Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) since 2006 until March 2023 when he was first appointed by the government to CAM’s board of directors. He was then also appointed as the chairman of the airport operator’s executive committee.
The new appointments announced yesterday mean that Chan himself remains as a member of CAM’s executive committee.
According to the CAM website, Ma has now become the chairman of the airport operator’s general assembly.
Upon Sam’s proposal, the State Council decided on April 16 this year to remove Tai from the position of the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance after he had submitted his resignation to Sam “for personal reasons”.
Tai’s resignation took effect on April 16. It had been less than 16 months since he took office as the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance on December 20, 2024.
Tai, born in 1968 in Macau, had been the director of the Economic Services Bureau – which was upgraded to the current Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) in 2021 – since April 2016 until he became the secretary for economy and finance.
No replacement has been appointed yet for the position of the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance.
The Central People’s Government shall appoint or remove the MSAR’s chief executive, principal officials and prosecutor-general, according to Article 15 of the MSAR Basic Law.
According to the MSAR Basic Law’s Article 50, the chief executive “nominates and reports to the Central People’s Government for the appointment” of the MSAR’s principal officials and prosecutor-general, and recommends to the Central People’s Government their removal.
Pun had been president of the Sports Bureau (ID) since February 2016 until August 2024 when he became the director of the local preparatory office for the 15th National Games, which was jointly hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau in November last year. His tenure as the preparatory office’s director is scheduled to end on June 30 this year.
Local airport operator CAM, Macau International Airport Company Limited, is a public enterprise with the local government as the controlling majority shareholder. According to the CAM website, the MSAR government currently holds a 67.6 percent stake in the company. Former casino monopoly company STDM owns a 28.32 percent stake, while the remaining shares are held by several mainland Chinese, Hong Kong and local investors.
This file photo taken last year shows travellers in the local airport’s departure hall. – Photo: Tony Wong
