On 3 March 2022, the Faculty of Finance of the City University of Macau held the Finance Seminar Series [14], Well Link Investment Forum – First Talk, at the Ho Yin Convention Centre. Mr Ray Chan, Head of Securities & Nova Taipa Branch President, was invited to deliver speech titled “Opportunities and Challenges of Macau Wealth Management Market”. Guests attending this seminar include Dean Cheung Wai Kong, and Associate Dean Khong Yeung Wah of Faculty of Finance, City University of Macau.
To begin with, Mr Chan introduced the current categories of financial institutions in Macau and their products and services to begin with. Financial institutions in Macau are mainly banks and insurance institutions, including 11 local registered banks, 20 overseas registered banks, 12 life insurance institutions, 13 general insurance institutions and 1 reinsurance institution. Other financial institutions also include financial companies, fx exchange shops and gambling companies that provide financial leasing or payment services.
The main services provided by banks include saving deposits and loans, credit cards, online banking, investment and wealth management. Certain banks have launched multi-currency accounts, which can be used to exchange funds within the account at any time. Loan services provide flexible repayment options for private, mortgage, stock or IPO loan needs. In terms of investment and wealth management, Mr Chan explained different kind of stock investment, including monthly stock investment and equity linked investment, etc.
For insurance, Mr Chan mentioned that mainland residents are keen to purchase insurance in Hong Kong and Macau in recent years. Compared with mainland insurance, Hong Kong and Macau insurance products have the advantages of more comprehensiveness, diversity, high insured amount, high yield and lower price. By using leverage and arbitrage strategies, the cost of financing insurance policy can be reduced. Moreover, the insurance products in Hong Kong and Macau also offer monthly distribution investment product, which essentially, is to buy linked mutual funds, and use its income net of expenses to pay the monthly insurance premium.
Mr Chan explained Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Scheme in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Cross-boundary WMC) to the students. Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect allows eligible Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to invest in wealth management products distributed by banks in the GBA through a closed-loop funds flow channel established between their respective banking systems. The Cross-boundary WMC consists of the Southbound Scheme and the Northbound Scheme. The Southbound Scheme is designed for eligible residents in the Mainland GBA cities investing in wealth management products distributed by banks in Hong Kong and Macao via designated channels. The Northbound Scheme is for eligible residents in Hong Kong and Macao investing in wealth management products distributed by Mainland banks. These schemes allow business funds to be aligned one by one through accounts to implement closed-loop remittance and closed management of funds. Transfer of funds can be settled cross-border in RMB, and exchange of funds can be completed in the offshore market, enriching the diversity of investment choices for residents in both areas.
At the end of the sharing session, the students took this valuable opportunity to actively pose questions on whether the recent international situation will affect the future financial market of Macau. Mr Chan responded and shared his views clearly. The Faculty of Finance will continue to invite experts from different fields of the financial industry to share their insights with students, to enrich their knowledge of financial markets and practices.