A Macau Lawmaker's Proposal for a New Finance Forum

Macau legislator Ip Sio Kai has proposed that the territory create an annual international financial forum designed to deepen Macau's role as a commercial bridge between China and Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking economies. He made the proposal on Thursday, August 13, during an intervention before the order of the day in the Legislative Assembly.

Under the plan, the Macau government would organise the event, with financial-sector bodies such as the Macau Association of Banks acting as co-organisers. The forum would bring together financial institutions, regulators, specialists and academics, along with representatives from mainland China and Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries. Ip said it should include dedicated panels for Portugal, Brazil, other Portuguese-speaking countries and Spanish-speaking nations.

The proposed agenda would focus on cross-border investment, green finance, fintech and the international use of the yuan. Ip argued that Macau's financial infrastructure and qualified workforce have matured enough to support a high-level exchange platform, and that an annual event could raise the territory's financial profile and create opportunities for economic diversification. The report did not indicate a government commitment, funding plan or implementation timetable.

Why Ip Sio Kai Wants to Expand Macau Beyond Portuguese-Speaking Markets

From Lusophone to Hispanic: a wider bridge

The most distinctive part of the proposal is its explicit inclusion of Spanish-speaking countries alongside Portuguese-speaking markets. Macau's traditional role has been as a link to Lusophone economies, but the lawmaker is asking the territory to extend that bridge to the much larger Spanish-speaking world. That would give Macau a differentiated identity as a venue for China-facing financial dialogue across two language groups, rather than only one.

Aligned with Beijing's financial priorities

The themes named in the proposal—cross-border investment, green finance, fintech and yuan internationalization—track closely with Beijing's stated financial policy goals. By packaging those themes inside a Macau-branded forum, the territory would position itself as a practical venue for mainland institutions and international partners, while giving local banks and professionals a platform to pursue cross-border business.

Still only a legislative proposal

No government response, funding arrangement or implementation timeline is described. The initiative is a call from a single legislator, not an adopted policy. For it to become a recurring event, Macau's executive would need to take ownership, co-organisers would need to commit resources, and the agenda would need to generate actual investment or financial activity rather than only dialogue.