On 16 February 2023, the Faculty of Finance of the City University of Macau held the Finance Seminar Series [15] at the Ho Yin Convention Centre. Mr. Tinlop Chui, Rato, Ling, Lei & Cortés – Advogados, was invited to deliver a speech titled “The Development Trend of Macau’s Modern Financial Industry and Legal System”. Guests attending this seminar include Dean Adrian Cheung, and Associate Dean Eva Khong of Faculty of Finance, City University of Macau.

Mr. Tinlop Chui holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Catholic University of Portugal, Lisbon and a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Chicago Law School. He is member of the All-China Youth Federation; member of the Youth Council of Macau SAR Government; Director of the Macau Chamber of Commerce and Deputy Director of its Youth Committee; president of the Macau Youth Summit; Founding President of the Luso-Macaense Students Association; President of the Board of Directors of the Macau Financial Law Association; and Vice-President of the Macau Youth Law Society. His publications include “Chambers Global Practice Guide: Banking & Finance 2020: Macau Chapter” and “Thomson Reuters Practical Law Guide: Establishing a Business in Macau”.

Mr. Chui explained the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and the General Plan for Building a Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area helps Macau integrate into the overall development of the country, further enhances Macau's role in national economic development and opening up, deepens cooperation between mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, and promotes the appropriately diversified development of Macau's economy. The General Plan for Building a Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin clarifies that the development of Hengqin enters a new stage of comprehensive cooperation between Guangdong and Macau, through consultation, joint contribution, management and shared benefits, giving full play to Macau's role as a window to Portuguese-speaking countries, supporting cross-border RMB settlement business in the cooperation zone, strengthening the linkage between the financial markets of the cooperation zone and the offshore financial markets of Macau and Hong Kong, and exploring the establishment of a new external debt management system in the field of cross-border financing.

Then, Mr. Chui introduced the development trend and review of Macau's financial industry in recent years and introduced the development of Macau's bond market. He pointed out that the number of approved financial institutions had increased in recent years. Since 2018, large local enterprises in Macau began to raise funds overseas by issuing bonds. Chongwa (Macao) Financial Assets Exchange Co., Ltd. (MOX) was also approved to be established, and the Monetary Authority of Macao issued the Guideline on Management of Corporate Bond Issuance and Trading and the Guideline on Underwriting and Custody of Corporate Bond, respectively. From 2021 to now, the Macau bond market has gradually become known to mainland issuers, and issuers of various types have successively issued bonds in Macau. On December 15, 2021, Macao Central Securities Depository and Clearing Limited (MCSD) was officially launched.

Mr. Chui introduced “Special Support Measures for Enterprises in Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin to Issue Corporate Bonds in Macao (Temporary)” and “Support Measures for Promoting Financial Industry Development in Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin”. The support measures promulgated include: the cooperation zone shall provide up to RMB 5 million in fund support to the enterprises that successfully issue corporate bonds in Macau and meet certain conditions; If the bonds issued by enterprises in the cooperation zone in Macau are green bonds, they will receive another RMB 500,000 subsidy, totaling RMB 5.5 million; Law firms, accounting firms, credit rating agencies and third-party green bond review agencies in the cooperation area that provide services for domestic enterprises to successfully issue corporate bonds in Macau shall be given financial support at the standard of RMB 100,000 each time. Lastly, Mr. Chui shared the recent updates on Macau's financial laws, including the "Legal System for Currency Establishment and Issuance", " The Financial System Act" and "Trust Law".

At the end of the sharing session, the students took this valuable opportunity to actively pose questions about the laws of Macau related to finance, and Mr. Tinlop Chui answered in detail. In the Seminar, students paid attention to the development and policies of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and deepened their understanding of Macau’s financial laws, which helped them grasp the advantages of Macau’s current financial and bond markets. The students also expressed their expectations for the finance seminars in the coming semester.