Ng has impressive record of senior civil service positions
The State Council, upon the nomination by Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, has appointed Ng Wai Han as the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance, effective from yesterday.
Ng’s appointment came after the position of the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance had been left vacant for two months following Anton Tai Kin Ip’s resignation on April 16 this year. It had been less than 16 months since he took office as the secretary for economy and finance on December 20, 2024.
Ng had headed the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) since May last year.
Xinhua released a dispatch yesterday morning about the Central People’s Government’s decision to appoint Ng as the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance, according to which the “State Council decided on June 10, 2026 to appoint Ng Wai Han as the secretary for economy and finance, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and upon the nomination by Macau Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai”.
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.
The MSAR’s principal officials comprise the government’s five policy secretaries, anti-graft commissioner, audit commissioner, head of the Unitary Police Service (SPU), and chief of the Macau Customs Service.
Ng joined the civil service in 1999 when she started to work for the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL), where she became a deputy director in June 2017.
Ng had been a deputy director of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP) since June 2020 before being promoted to its director in September 2023.
The DSAL is overseen by the local government’s Secretariat for Economy and Finance portfolio, while the SAFP is part of its Secretariat for Administration and Justice portfolio.
Ng returned to the government’s Secretariat for Economy and Finance portfolio in May last year when she was appointed as the director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).
Ng was sworn in by Sam yesterday morning as the secretary for economy and finance, according to a statement by the Government Information Bureau (GCS).
The oath-taking ceremony, which was held at Government Headquarters, was also attended by Legislative Assembly (AL) President André Cheong Weng Chon, Court of Final Appeal (TUI) President Song Man Lei, other principal officials of the MSAR government, members of the local government’s top advisory Executive Council, and heads of government bureaus and other entities overseen by the Secretariat for Economy and Finance portfolio.
The GCS statement said that “after the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China was played, Ng took her oath of office in the presence of Sam, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Oath-taking”.
Delivering a speech after being sworn in by Sam, Ng expressed her sincere gratitude to Sam for her nomination and to the Central People’s Government for her appointment, according to a statement by the Secretariat for Economy and Finance.
The appointment, Ng said, represents a vote of confidence but, above all, a responsibility. She said that she assumed the office of secretary for economy and finance with immense honour and profound respect.
Ng also thanked the Central People’s Government and Sam for their trust and support.
The government did not invite the media to cover Ng’s swearing-in ceremony.
According to the statement, Ng said that she is deeply aware that every decision made in the Secretariat for Economy and Finance portfolio is closely linked to Macau’s future development and directly affects the daily lives of every family. In the face of the complexity and volatility of the current external economic environment, Ng said, she and her team, under Sam’s leadership and guided by a problem-solving approach, will make every effort to deliver on various tasks and achieve governance objectives.
Ng pledged that the local government will vigorously promote and ensure the implementation of its ongoing plan to appropriately diversify Macau’s economy, with the aim of enhancing its economic resilience.
Moreover, Ng said, the local government will ensure the implementation of the MSAR’s 3rd Five-Year Plan, the draft of which is currently under a public consultation process, in close alignment with the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan.
“Nothing related to residents’ well-being is insignificant”, Ng said, adding that the fruits of economic development must, ultimately, translate into tangible benefits for all residents.
“The road ahead is full of challenges, but it also holds great opportunities”, Ng said, pledging that she and her team will take the initiative to listen to views from all segments of Macau’s civil society while performing all tasks with transparency, efficiency, and a sense of accountability.
Ng said she is confident that, with the joint efforts of all segments of civil society and all residents, Macau’s economy will break new ground, moving forward to a higher level.
GCS yesterday also published a separate statement about Ng’s CV.
Ng, born in 1976 in Macau, holds a bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies and a master’s degree in Criminal Law from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.
Ng joined the civil service in 1999 when she started to work for the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL). From November 2013, Ng successively served as head of the bureau’s Research Division, head of the Labour and Employment Rights Division, and head of the Labour Inspection Department, before becoming a deputy director in June 2017.
Ng was appointed as a deputy director of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP) in June 2020 before being promoted to its director in September 2023. She was appointed as the director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) in May last year.
Newly-appointed Secretary for Economy and Finance Ng Wai Han (left) is sworn in by Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai at Government Headquarters yesterday morning. – Photo: GCS
This file photo in August 2024 shows Ng Wai Han, the then director of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP), addressing a press conference about the government’s new e-services for applications for marriage and birth registrations via the Macao One Account app. – Photo: Tony Wong
