Beijing to boost casino hub Macau’s diversification into financial services with new scheme aimed at attracting foreign investors
- The Qualified Foreign Limited Partnership scheme comes on the heels of a master plan allowing Macau to govern the economic affairs of neighbouring Hengqin
- To attract more players, the city will not have capital requirements or restrictions on foreign ownership
Beijing is launching a new scheme in January to attract foreign investors to Macau and for them to use the city as a base for investing in mainland Chinese start-ups and other projects.
From January 29, the Qualified Foreign Limited Partnership (QFLP) pilot scheme will allow foreign investors to set up funds in the Macau-Hengqin zone and raise money from both domestic and foreign investors, according to a statement issued by the joint management committee of Macau and Hengqin on Thursday.
“The new scheme represents an important step supporting the development of Macau’s financial services industry,” the statement said.
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The casino business contributed over half of the city’s US$54 billion gross domestic product before the outbreak of Covid-19 and generated 80 per cent of the local government’s tax revenue. An 80 per cent drop in gambling revenue last year led to a 50 per cent decline in the city’s GDP.