Macau submits proposal for ‘offshore yuan Nasdaq’ to Chinese government
- Official involved in submitting proposal says he hopes the plan may be approved as a ‘birthday gift’ on 20th anniversary of city’s return to Chinese administration
- Announcement of plan’s submission made at forum in Guangdong province on Saturday
A proposal to set up an offshore yuan-denominated Nasdaq in Macau has been submitted to China for consideration, according to a senior official from neighbouring Guangdong province.
He Xiaojun, director of Guangdong’s Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, said he hoped China’s central government might give its blessing to the plan by mid-December, which marks the 20th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese administration, the Sina Finance news portal reported on Sunday.
Guangdong, a hi-tech hub, is seeking to tap more capital for the sector.
The Monetary Authority of Macau said that a feasibility study was continuing into the establishment of a securities exchange. It reiterated it would “differentiate [itself] from incumbent financial centres nearby” and “serve the country’s needs”.
We helped the Macau government to make a plan for [setting up] the stock exchange, with the aspiration to make it an offshore [yuan] Nasdaq
Beijing tasked Macau with carrying out a feasibility study on establishing a securities market – denominated and settled in yuan – in February when it revealed its outline development plan for the Greater Bay Area – a scheme to create an economic and innovation hub incorporating the cities of Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and eight others in Guangdong.